A look back to the New Student Convocation for Class of 2022 as they prepare to graduate on Friday, May 20.
PHOTO GALLERY: New Student Convocation 2018
Elon University will celebrate the graduation of the Class of 2022 on Friday, May 20, and before they walk across the stage, take a look back at how these students’ Elon stories began at New Student Convocation nearly four years ago.
On Aug. 25, 2018, more than 1,700 new students joined by their families and loved ones gathered Under the Oaks eager to begin their Elon journeys. President Connie Ledoux Book spoke to the students on that bright August morning about the “human transformation” they were about to embark on, her first New Student Convocation address as Elon’s ninth president.
“Together for the next four years, Class of 2022, we invite you to a powerful journey of learning, curiosity, experience and most importantly, relationships,” Book said four years ago to Elon’s newest students. “These rich relationships will shine new light and new understanding.
“An Elon education is designed to support your academic growth as well as your ethical and spiritual development. Our community and curriculum intentionally develop the mind, body and spirit – the centerpiece of Elon’s mission. And that doesn’t unfold magically. It is a deliberately designed academic experience integrated with a residential community rich with meaningful relationships,” Book added.
Consisting of students from 42 states and 29 countries, including Chile, Iceland and Australia, the Class of 2022 also had 92 students who are siblings of current Elon students or alumni, 27 who are the children or grandchildren of alumni and 130 first-generation students.
“We fully expect that your journey of achievement and success will continue here at Elon. The location where you are seated today, centered here Under the Oaks, surrounded by my faculty colleagues, is intentional. It is a reminder that you will be embraced by this community,” Vice President of Student Life Jon Dooley said.
A tradition since 1999, students received their acorns following the convocation — a symbol of their intellectual and personal growth for the next four years.
The 132nd Undergraduate Commencement for the Class of 2022 is scheduled for Friday, May 20, at 9 a.m. for the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business and the School of Communications, and at 2 p.m. for the Dr. Jo Watts Williams School of Education and Elon College, The College of Arts and Sciences. The ceremonies will be held in Schar Center.
A full schedule of events and further details can be found on the Commencement website and a live stream of Commencement can be viewed here.