This Month InNew Student Programs

Welcome To Elon

Orientation leaders assisted more than 1,400 incoming freshmen by helping them move in and introducing them to Elon’s campus.

Total undergraduate enrollment-5357

Total graduate enrollment-672

Total Enrollment- 6029

The Love School of Business has 1356 undergraduates enrolled, making it the most represented major on campus.

New Student Orientation

In Recent NewsThe start of fall semester is an incredibly busy and exciting time for New Student Programs! We had quite a successful Opening Weekend, moving in over 1400 new students and getting them acclimated to Elon’s campus through orientation sessions and informative programs. A dedicated student staff of over 100 orientation leaders helped ensure a smooth transition for these new students and their families. At the same time, things started with a bang in Elon, 15 members of the Class of 2016 began quite a different academic journey in the wilderness of Wyoming. This inaugural cohort, participating in the first ever Elon Gap Semester program, just came off the trail and are about to begin the next phase of their semester. Read firsthand accounts of their experience in this edition of the New Student Programs newsletter!

The Elon Gap Semester 2012 is off and running! Fifteen students, along with professional staff coordinator Steve Morrison ’03, embarked on a journey into the wilderness of Wyoming for a three-week Elon Leadership expedition through the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS). Check out some of their journal entries, handwritten on the trail and transcribed after being mailed home to Elon:

Today’s hike was an introduction into the perseverance and need for a positive attitude that this adventure will require. Our hike was around 5 mile on and off trails. We learned to search for the paths of least resistance, whether they were established paths or not. The day was exhausting and fulfilling and I definitely learned the importance of staying well fed, well hydrated, and fully sun-screened. Today was also our first introduction to the motto of “the real work begins when you get to camp.” As much as we would have loved to lie down on a couch and order pizza after our long day: where’s the fun in that? Coming together to set up our “home” for the night and cook our meal (that would have tasted amazing no matter what was in it) bonded our groups and definitely proved to me that pushing yourself when you least want to can yield great results. We all made awesome dinners and got to talk with our cook group about the different experiences that we all had on the trail that day. We all went to bed feeling not just exhausted but rather extremely accomplished.

Gap Semester Week 1

The next phase of the Gap Semester involves travelling across the country in two 12-passenger vans. Along the way, the group will stop in four separate locations and engage in service-learning projects to help the local communities. The locations and projects this semester include: •Pine Ridge, South Dakota (working with RE-Member, a Lakota-Sioux reservation organiza-tion) •St. Louis, Missouri (working with Gateway Greening and Campus Kitchen) •Harlan, Kentucky (learning about Appalachian culture and economic issues that have plagued the region such as mountaintop removal and the coal mining industry) •Highlands, North Carolina (more about Appa-lachian culture and regional NC service projects) Following the four weeks of service learning, the cohort will take a short fall break and then travel together to Elon’s center in San Jose, Costa Rica! There, they will complete coursework in Spanish language and Costa Rican culture for six weeks before returning back to North Carolina at the end of the semester.

Week 2

Gap SemesterKeeping up with the

Check out these sites, which contain frequent updates about the semester:

Gap Semester Twitter Elon Gap Website

Gap Semester Facebook Page

Gap Semester Blog

Alumni Spotlight

As a recent graduate, I often find myself reminiscing on my time at Elon, and there are many memories that I will never be able to forget. One experience that has provided me with more memories than I can count and that hastruly helped shaped me as an individual was my involvement with New Student Orientation. My freshman year, I was fortunate enough to be offered a position as an Orientation Leader. Little did I know that this would be the beginning of an experience that would shape me as an individual and as a leader. I worked as a member of head staff for two years and during the second year served as the head team captain. Now to me the title seems a bit confusing but basically My experience as HTC allowed me to not only learn about my own leadership style, but also develop skills that would serve me after my time at Elon. Thanks to my education and experiences at Elon, I feel that I have found where I bELONg.

Brandon Landreth ’11

I graduated from Elon in May of 2011. While at Elon, I was heavily involved in the New Student Orientation Program and the Isabella Cannon Leadership Program. After graduating, I moved to Knoxville, TN, to pursue a position in social work. In October of 2011, I got engaged to Stephen Rusterholz, a former coordinator for the New Student Orientation Program. I moved back to Burlington, NC, in June of 2012 to be near my fiancé and to pursue a job in student affairs. I am currently working as the Coordinator for the Center for Leadership at Elon University. I really enjoy working for my alma mater and contributing to a program that provided me with such an outstanding experience.

Stacey Markham ’11

Gap Semester Highlights{Parting Shot}

{Coming Up}

The students will travel to San Jose, Costa Rica for several weeks of cultural immerson.

The students will participate in Hiking Appalachia and sunset at Bad Branch Falls.

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