Asbury Prepares to Welcome the Faithful Class of 2022
July 13, 2018
With Welcome Week (August 14-19) right around the corner, all of us at Asbury University are getting excited to meet the Faithful Class of 2022. The week is chock-full of activities that will help new students get to know Asbury’s campus and build community with their fellow classmates. Learn more about Welcome Week and view the full schedule.
At Asbury, Welcome Week is a family affair. Faculty, staff and current students go above and beyond to create a space of warmth and accommodation for new students each August. A variety of seminars cover topics like liberal arts learning, community and campus resources, ensuring that students become well-adjusted to their first semester of college life. Daily devotions engage students in campus spiritual life from the get-go. The week culminates in a classy and fun night of desserts and community-building on Friday evening before the rest of the student population returns to campus for the Welcome Back Bash on Saturday night.
Another unique aspect of Asbury’s Welcome Week is that students are given peer mentors to help them through their first semester of college.
“One of the biggest ways Welcome Week helps new students build community is through the Transition and Guidance groups, or TAG,” Director of Student Engagement Heather Tyner said. “These sophomore peer mentors are assigned a group of freshmen that they get to know and guide through Welcome Week and the semester beyond. Being known on a first-name basis by a group of students and mentors helps freshmen feel like they belong.”
Tyner also noted that Welcome Week’s schedule of community events is designed to provide lots of time for class-bonding.
“Transitioning freshmen into the spiritual and social life of Asbury is also key during Welcome Week,” Tyner said. “Through events like Community Worship, devotions in the residence halls and social gatherings like the Welcome Back Bash and Cut Loose (a party with their class mates before returning students come back), new students have the opportunity to get to know one another, become acquainted with what Asbury is about and prepare for the upcoming year.”
Activities for parents abound as well, with plenty of opportunities to get acquainted with Asbury faculty and staff along with President Dr. Sandra C. Gray. The relational environment and nature of Welcome Week is sure to make students feel right at home.
“Welcome Week programming not only prepares students academically and spiritually, but also socially,” Tyner said. “We focus on these three elements of the Asbury community through the programs and events that happen each day of Welcome Week. During this week, we provide an introduction to the academic life of Asbury through the Liberal Arts Seminar, which ushers new students into the beauty and goodness of the liberal arts and what it can mean for them. Students are assigned to specific faculty members who spend time with them during Welcome Week answering their questions and delving into deeper conversation about what the liberal arts looks like.”
Please join us in praying for the Faithful Class of 2022. All of us here at Asbury are looking forward to welcoming our new students next month!