New students participated in the final First-Year Summer Experience program on campus with activities centered around Elon values and campus culture.
Last week, the Office of New Student Programs welcomed sixteen incoming first year students to campus for Live the Maroon Life, the newest of the First Year Summer Experience (FSE) programs.
The six-day program is designed to orient participants with Elon’s campus culture, values and traditions. Led by two student coordinators, the incoming students became familiar with the Elon community as well as the greater Piedmont Triad.
The program kicked off with a dinner with rising seniors who shared their advice on transitioning to campus and making the most of their Elon experience. Students became acquainted with one another on Elon’s Challenge Course, as well as through various icebreakers and personal reflection activities.
Throughout the week, several staff members spoke with the participants about health and wellness, community service, sustainability, diversity and social justice, the Honor Code, academic affairs and cultural identity.
Other activities included a morning of service on Elon’s Loy Farm; touring the International Civil Rights Museum in Greensboro, N. C.; and hiking at Hanging Rock State Park in Danbury, N. C.
Student coordinators Brianna McClelland and Brintha Renganathan assisted Katie Hight, Director of New Student Programs in developing and facilitating the FSE in its second year.
“The participants will all certainly enter their first year with a strong sense of their surroundings. In the future, I hope that Live the Maroon Life continues to grow and that more students will get to experience the wonderful things that Elon has to offer, before they even arrive for orientation,” said McClelland.
First Year Summer Experiences utilize experiential learning to increase incoming students’ confidence and preparedness for beginning their college careers at Elon. Live the Maroon Life joins Adventures in Leadership, Discovery and Pre-Serve as the fourth unique FSE.
For more information about the Live the Maroon Life FSE, contact Katie Hight at khight@elon.edu or 336-278-7777.