Photo Caption: New students and their resident assistants make their way to Myles Center for the Arts Harper-McNeeley Auditorium for the time-honored Matriculation Convocation.

The Journey Continues for Students at Davis & Elkins College

D&E Press Release
Happenings

New and returning Davis & Elkins College students received a spirited Senator welcome and a helping hand last weekend as they moved into residence halls and prepared for the first week of classes.

New students arrived August 20, and had the opportunity to visit with merchants and other guests from the Elkins area during the annual Welcome Fair in The McDonnell Center. D&E President Chris Wood, student-athletes and members of the campus community joined efforts to help students carry refrigerators, computers and other necessities into their new home away from home. Afterward, they and their families enjoyed a picnic lunch with College faculty and staff.

The morning’s activities led up to the time-honored Matriculation Convocation. Dressed in shirts bearing the Orientation Weekend theme, “The Journey is the Destination,” new students processed from Booth Library to Myles Center for the Arts Harper-McNeeley Auditorium. Led by the West Virginia Highlanders of Davis & Elkins College, faculty, staff and members of the Board of Trustees, the procession is much like the walk students will take for commencement.

In his address to the new class, Wood told students that their journey at Davis & Elkins will bring new experiences and challenges, and produce lifelong friendships and personal growth. He emphasized that goals and achievements are not always the most valued treasures discovered along the journey.

“Never forget on the journey that you find meaning and you find purpose, and sometimes you find destiny for your life,” Wood told the group. “That is my hope for you and my prayer for you in this time you have chosen to join us. Together, we are the Davis & Elkins community.”

On Sunday, while upper classmen were checking into their residence halls, new students were busy getting acquainted and learning team building skills as they participated in the “Write Your Story” program. The full day of interactive learning experiences included presentations of thought provoking scenarios. The initiative, designed to encourage students in thought and reflection about their purposes in life, is made possible in part by a grant from the Network for Vocation in Undergraduate Education (NetVUE) and the Council of Independent Colleges, with funding from the Lilly Endowment Inc.

The weekend concluded with the annual Last Night of Summer Carnival in the open-air Augusta Dance Pavilion. Students gathered for carnival games, music, food, fun and fireworks.

Related to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Davis & Elkins College is located in Elkins, 2 hours east of Charleston, 3 hours south of Pittsburgh and 4 hours west of Washington, D.C. For more information, please visit the College website at www.dewv.edu or call 304-637-1243.

Photo Caption: Davis & Elkins College resident assistant Meaghan Eyler delivers red and white balloons that served as markers to event locations for Orientation Weekend.
Photo Caption: Davis & Elkins College resident assistant Meaghan Eyler delivers red and white balloons that served as markers to event locations for Orientation Weekend.
Photo Caption: New students and their resident assistants make their way to Myles Center for the Arts Harper-McNeeley Auditorium for the time-honored Matriculation Convocation.
Photo Caption: New students and their resident assistants make their way to Myles Center for the Arts Harper-McNeeley Auditorium for the time-honored Matriculation Convocation.
Photo Caption: Resident assistants Sierra Carney, left, and Elise Cardot, right, show their enthusiasm for the start of the new semester.
Photo Caption: Resident assistants Sierra Carney, left, and Elise Cardot, right, show their enthusiasm for the start of the new semester.
Photo Caption: Davis & Elkins College President Chris Wood hands student Christian Ortiz an envelope containing a blank sheet of stationary. Wood provided the materials for each new student’s first homework assignment – writing a letter addressed to their future selves. Students were asked to describe what they were feeling on their first day at D&E and what they hope to achieve in their college career and in life. The letters will be given to Wood and returned to students on their graduation day.
Photo Caption: Davis & Elkins College President Chris Wood hands student Christian Ortiz an envelope containing a blank sheet of stationary. Wood provided the materials for each new student’s first homework assignment – writing a letter addressed to their future selves. Students were asked to describe what they were feeling on their first day at D&E and what they hope to achieve in their college career and in life. The letters will be given to Wood and returned to students on their graduation day.
Photo Caption: Davis & Elkins College President Chris Wood helps student Lauren Gorsuch carry items to her residence hall. Gorsuch is a member of the women’s lacrosse team.
Photo Caption: Davis & Elkins College President Chris Wood helps student Lauren Gorsuch carry items to her residence hall. Gorsuch is a member of the women’s lacrosse team.
Photo Caption: Davis & Elkins College students enjoy a picnic with faculty and staff in the open-air Augusta Dance Pavilion.
Photo Caption: Davis & Elkins College students enjoy a picnic with faculty and staff in the open-air Augusta Dance Pavilion.
Photo Caption: New students participate in a team building exercise in which they balance a tennis ball in plastic tubing and then pass the ball on to the next person in their group. The activity was part of the “Write Your Story” initiative.
Photo Caption: New students participate in a team building exercise in which they balance a tennis ball in plastic tubing and then pass the ball on to the next person in their group. The activity was part of the “Write Your Story” initiative.
Photo Caption: Karen Seel, standing right, assistant professor of nursing at Davis & Elkins College, leads new students in an art project as part of the “Write Your Story” initiative. Students were asked to create a work that describes their virtues.
Photo Caption: Karen Seel, standing right, assistant professor of nursing at Davis & Elkins College, leads new students in an art project as part of the “Write Your Story” initiative. Students were asked to create a work that describes their virtues.