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Twenty incoming �þ��� students got their first taste of college and the broader community through Engage, one of Elon’s First-Year Summer Experience (FSE) programs.

The FSE programs give incoming Elon students a preview of the university during the summer before their first semester. The programs are part of the university’s commitment to experiential learning and help students develop self-awareness, enhance relationships and define community in preparation for their Elon experience.

Engage, which ran from July 9-12, is focused on community service, with students spending the week living in a residence hall on campus, exploring Alamance County and volunteering in the local community. During the nearly weeklong program, the students volunteered with the Boys & Girls Club of Alamance County and in Whitsett, North Carolina.

The perfect opportunity

Jordyn Lewis ’28, from Harrisburg, North Carolina, is coming to Elon with her twin sister and while her sister chose to do an Adventures in Leadership program this summer, Lewis wanted a focus on community service, something she did in high school.

“Community service has always been an interest of mine, trying to give back and help people out,” said Lewis, who will be part of the accelerated 3+1 business dual-degree program in the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business. “So, when I saw that I could do the Engage program over the summer, even before I got to Elon, and make connections with people who also wanted to do service, I thought ‘this is perfect.’”

The Kernodle Center for Civic Life hosts the FSE programs and connect students with community based and experiential learning opportunities while at Elon.

“The Engage program is a great opportunity to not only showcase all the wonderful resources that incoming students have access to but also showcase the opportunities to get engaged in a community that they will be in for the next four years,” said Abigail Wiatrek, assistant director of the Kernodle Center.

Being different together

Like Lewis, community service is also important to Joseph Enclerio ’28, from Wayne, Pennsylvania, and he wanted to get a head start on his Experiential Learning Requirement (ELR). All Elon students are required to complete the ELR before graduation, which must include at least two experiential learning opportunities through any of the five Elon Experiences: global engagement, service learning, leadership, internships and �þ��� research.

“I thought ‘I love service, it’s a graduation requirement, it works out perfectly,’” said Enclerio, who plans to study accounting through the accelerated business 3+1 dual degree program.

“Getting the students comfortable on campus and out in the community and watching them thrive and ask ‘how can I come back to volunteer during the year?’ is confirmation that Elon is going to be the right place for them,” said Wiatrek.

While at Peacehaven, the students helped around the farm, including cutting back branches along trails while also continuing to bond with one another. The community farm serves adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

“It’s great for the students to come and be a part of a community where there are a variety of abilities and to just work with people that might be a little bit different,” said Elizabeth Strickland, community engagement coordinator for Peacehaven. “Our slogan is ‘let’s be different together’ and I love that and have really embraced that mindset.”

A broader view

This year’s cohort was also able to do a ropes course activity, see and experience different areas of campus and tour downtown Burlington.

One of those areas of campus was the The Maker Hub in downtown Elon where the students participated in the Marshmallow Challenge – a design and team-building exercise that tasks students to build the tallest structure out of spaghetti noodles with a marshmallow on top.

Sofia Barnes ’28, Delia Moulton ’28 and Henry Pittman ’28 formed a group to solve the challenge together. Barnes first came to campus for Scholarship Weekend and she knew Elon was the right fit. She also knew she wanted to familiarize herself with campus before the fall so the Engage program gave her what she wanted and the opportunity to see more than what campus has to offer.

“I got to stay in a dorm, which is nice, and I liked the idea of being able to get to know campus before everyone got here and it’s good getting to know other people,” said Barnes, who is from Long Island, New York and plans to study chemistry. “It’s a good inside look, on a miniature scale, of what the community is going to be like, so I’m excited.”

Finding community

Elon was the first university Moulton toured on her college search – 24 schools later, she knew Elon was going to stay number one. Even though she is from nearby Greensboro, Moulton says the Engage program was still a beneficial opportunity for her summer.

“I wanted to get to know the campus and the people before actually being thrown into classes,” said Moulton, who is majoring in political science.

For the students in the Engage program, it’s all about not just helping their new community, but finding a community as well.

“When I toured Elon, you could tell there was a very strong sense of community, and diversity and inclusion was important and that there was a place for everybody here,” said Lewis. “You feel like you belong.”