The return of students marks the end of summer’s hiatus for Davis & Elkins College. The beginning of the new academic year also signals the resumption of this weekly column I affectionately call “Reflecting Along the Journey.” Over the past eight years of my presidency, I have concluded this weekly labor of love with the tagline my father would always use to conclude his personal letters to me. Dad would always write, “The journey continues….” New and returning students, walking onto the hallowed grounds of this campus, are living their D&E journey. It is a journey immersed in a holistic education that is the hallmark of this institution.
As our upper-class students returned to Elkins, they were joined by an enthusiastic and diverse group of first year students. Like the entering classes over the past 120 years, these students arrive to the beautiful D&E campus with dreams and anxiety, hopes and fears, and expectation sprinkled with a bit of homesickness. Just like those entering classes before them, adjusting to the cycles of campus life occurs quickly, new friendships emerge, and collegiate academics prove challenging. Yet, in the blink of an eye, high school graduates have embraced the collegiate life.
Every year I look forward to meeting new students and their parents as they check-in and begin their D&E journey. This year, arriving students came to the bridge of the Booth Library where a one-stop shop was established for check-in. All necessary campus offices were present and new students effortlessly took care of required business to be officially enrolled. The festive atmosphere on the bridge created a wonderful first impression and made obvious the welcoming community reaching out to embrace them.
One of those new students is Halee Jones. A resident of Fayetteville, WV, I first met Halee last December when we traveled to Oak Hill High School to present her with the Citizen’s Bank of West Virginia Emerging Leaders Scholarship. She told me at that time how excited she was to attend D&E. Eight months later, as she moved into her residence hall and began classes, I asked again about her nascent D&E experience.
“Arriving on campus for Orientation,” said Halee, “I was overwhelmed with all the open arms that welcomed me. Everyone was beyond excited that my classmates and I had arrived.” She described “smiles’ as her first impression, providing assurance of the support she would receive and “…how this campus would be a place I could call my home.” Halee reflected on how amazed her family was at all the assistance they had while moving into her residence hall. “I also really enjoyed the Matriculation Convocation and the speakers there because it was my wake-up call that I am starting college!”
After only a few days of classes, Halee commented that her professors already know her name, she has connected with new friends including her softball teammates, and she is blessed that D&E “already feels like home.”
As has been the case for more than a century, a new class of Senators have begun their D&E journey with great anticipation for the transformative educational experience that awaits. With gratitude to God, the campus is abuzz with new life and energy.
The journey continues….
Chris A. Wood
President
Davis & Elkins College
