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MILLIGAN COLLEGE, Tenn. (August 13, 2015) — New students are set to arrive on Milligan College’s campus this Saturday, August 15, to kick off a new year at Buff Nation.
In order to help acclimate those students to campus life, Milligan hosts “Welcome Week,” Aug. 15-22, a carefully structured and supportive introduction to their new college. Returning students arrive on Sunday, Aug. 16, and Emmanuel Christian Seminary, which merged with Milligan on July 1, will have orientation and registration for students on Aug. 17-18. Classes begin for everyone on Aug. 19.
“The Milligan community is extremely intentional about meeting incoming students where they are and walking with them as they begin their new journey,” said Jason Onks, Milligan’s new director of campus activities and resident director. “This system of intentional care and support allows students to realize that they are not just a number; rather, they are a valued part of a community. It encourages them to remain a part of that community.”
One of the most celebrated and meaningful traditions of Welcome Week is the annual Matriculation ceremony, to be held Saturday, Aug. 15, at 7:45 p.m. in the Mary B. Martin Auditorium of Milligan’s Seeger Chapel. During Matriculation, new students officially “sign-in” to the records of the college and formally become part of the Milligan community.
Following the ceremony, a bagpiper will lead the faculty and student body amid luminaries from Seeger to the Mary Sword Commons for a dessert reception.
A campus-wide worship service will be held in Seeger Chapel on Sunday morning before students are whisked away for the annual Buff Nation Migration, a daytrip to Doe River Gorge for exciting outdoor adventure.
As Welcome Week progresses, new students will learn more about the campus, network with peers and partner with faculty mentors and team leaders who help guide them through their first year. For returning students, it is a time to reconnect with friends and once again settle into collegiate life.
Orientation continues and registration begins on Monday, Aug. 17. That evening, Milligan’s Student Government Association will host the annual New Student Banquet in McCormick Dining Center.
Activities continue throughout the day on Tuesday, topped off with a trip to cheer on the Elizabethton Twins at 7 p.m. Classes begin at 8 a.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 19; however, Welcome Week festivities continue throughout the week and include games, a movie at State Line Drive-In and a cookout.
For a complete schedule of Welcome Week 2015 activities, visit www.milligan.edu/sizzler.