Sunshine, support greet Elon's Class of 2022 on Move-In Day

The 1,690 members of the Class of 2022 were met by hundreds from the Elon University community to help them settle into their new homes and begin their academic careers at the university. 

PHOTO GALLERY: Move-In Day 2018

Elon University welcomed its newest — and largest — class of students to campus on Friday, with students, faculty and staff turning out and pitching in for the annual Move-In Day. 

The day saw 1,690 members of the Class of 2022 arrive loaded down with suitcases, mini-fridges, televisions, bed linens and boxes, with cars, trucks and SUVs lined up around campus for the 8 a.m. start to Move-In Day. They were greeted by 129 enthusiastic student orientation leaders who will guide these new students through their first weekend on campus, along with hundreds of Elon faculty and staff ready to help them unload and begin settling in. 

Along East Haggard Avenue, senior Kendall Kynoch shouted out a hearty “Welcome to Elon!” as each vehicle loaded down with students, families and belongings filed past. “I just love how excited everyone one is,” Kynock said about Move-In Day. “This is my first year helping out — it’s always been something I’ve wanted to do.”

Each stopped vehicle was immediately surrounded by helpers looking to assist with unloading and transporting duffel bags, coffee makers, boxes of K-cups and rugs to soon-to-be-filled dorm rooms. 

“It’s a well-oiled machine,” said Karen Ryan of Skaneateles, New York, who was helping her son, John, unpack and settle into his room in the Global Neighborhood. 

Members of Elon’s Class of 2022 come from 42 states and 29 countries, with 13 of them starting off their Elon careers in Dublin, Ireland through the Global Pathfinders program. The class is 60 percent female and 40 percent male, with 17 percent coming from ethnically diverse backgrounds. 

“I’m ready,” said Reiley Overend of Baldwin, Maryland, as she worked with her parents to organize her room in the new East Neighborhood. The three-building residential neighborhood will host its first residents this year after being completed this summer, with new Living Learning Communities focused on civic engagement housed there. 

Her father, Scott Overend, said the new residential buildings “are so much nicer than what we had when I was in college.” The floor of each of the three East neighborhood buildings includes three wings, with multiple small-group gathering spaces on each floor and a communal kitchen on the first floor. 

Along East College Avenue, President Connie Ledoux Book joined in to help a family from Charlotte, N.C., unload, taking note of a batch of homemade cookies. “Everybody’s going to be real glad your mom made those cookies,” Book said with a laugh. “I doubt they’ll last too long.”

While his daughter, Austin, was checking in and getting the key to her room in Global Neighborhood, David Moore said he was excited for her as she starts this next phase in her life. “We raised her to be independent and to face the world,” Moore said. “For 18 years, we’ve had the chance to teach her. Now it’s time to see what she can do.”

Among the additions to New Student Orientation this year is Well-Connected, a new offering that provides a variety of ways for students to connect with each other and the university community during their first six weeks. Events focus on community, athletics, physical and emotional well-being and on getting involved with student organizations. The CONNECTions Team, made up of student leaders, helps facilitate involvement. 

On Saturday, the Class of 2022 surrounded by their friends and family will gather Under the Oaks for New Student Convocation, with President Book and other campus leaders offering them insights into what lies ahead for them during their years at Elon. Each new student will leave the ceremony with an acorn, an acknowledgment of the university’s name (Elon is the Hebrew word for “oak”) and a symbol of the start of a period of personal and intellectual growth. 

Creed Beavers from Atlanta said he is looking forward to being able to relax once he gets settled into his dorm room. With plans to major in finance, he said he’s looking forward to exploring opportunities outside the classroom to connect with others throughout the university. 

Gail Beavers offered these words of wisdom for her son — “Ask for help when you need it, in all areas of your life.”

The support that students have at Elon is one of the things that has impressed Michael Acri of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, whose daughter, Gianna, graduated in 2018 and whose son, Vincent, is starting at Elon this year. Acri said his son first developed an interest in Elon as he watched his sister, who is now pursuing a graduate degree at Duke University, progress through the university. 

“He’s been able to see all the different experiences that she had through her years here,” said Acri, standing outside Smith with his dog, Leo. “I think he’s seen just how much support you receive here.”

Acri said different from when he attended college, students arrive at Elon and remained committed to their college experience while here. “You see so many kids who truly want to be here, and who stay here,” Acri said. “There is such stability here.”

Along with her clothes, decorations and dorm-room supplies, Emery Eisner arrived with an internship. A political science and journalism double-major, the Charlotte native will be working with The Full Bird, a new North Carolina-based political news outlet focused on providing bi-partisan perspectives on current events. 

Eisner said she’s most looking forward to the start of classes and getting her academic work underway. Her mother, Caryn, was nearby helping Emery sort through her things, and was asked what words of advice she had for her daughter as she starts her college career. 

“Be sure to call your mother,” Caryn Eisner said. “Often.”