Nearly 1,300 students descended upon the Forest from 43 states and 18 foreign countries. They moved in to six first-year residence halls and prepared for a diverse array of orientation activities — some optional, some mandatory — designed to integrate them into their new home and get them thinking about the future.
Enjoy the photos and video below, and if you’re looking for even more photos, please see the full collection of galleries on Flickr. Read more about the move-in experience in a web exclusive from Wake Forest Magazine. Explore the social buzz.
In a few hours of Friday, Aug. 21, 180 student-athletes and 300 Wake Forest employees, including football coach Dave Clawson (top row, center) helped move roughly 100 tons of their new classmates’ stuff — clothes, pictures, rugs, etc. — into the Forest.
Wake Forest’s student band, The Spirit of the Old Gold and Black, a.k.a. SOTOGAB, played several gigs in a few hours. While the tour was short by distance — a few hundred feet from one stop to the next — it was long on intensity and pride. The band, like the football team, arrived on campus early in preparation for the coming season.
In addition to SOTOGAB, students were welcomed by President Nathan O. Hatch and Vice President for Campus Life Penny Rue, who both took a plunge into a bucket full of plastic balls to answer whatever questions the newest Demon Deacons posed.
The afternoon rolled on with a picnic for students, parents and the University’s top administrators. Dr. Hatch delivered a warm welcome to the incoming class.
Wake Forest students enjoyed food from local restaurants at the Taste of Winston-Salem event.
First-year students attended Wake World, a presentation on college life put on by the Theatre department in Scales Fine Arts Center. The performing arts are a vital part of campus life. On average, a student presentation in music, drama or art is held every three days of the fall and spring semesters in Scales.
Wake Forest is one of only three Top-50 National Universities (U.S. News, September 2014) that directly reference service to mankind in the institutional motto.
Wake Forest first-year students played the Humans vs. Zombies game in the Z. Smith Reynolds Library as a part of the various pre-orientation camps. In addition to being an award-winning academic hub, the library also hosts many student events, including Wake the Library midnight exam breaks, Humans vs. Zombies and Capture the Flag contests, and a variety of film screenings and lectures.
First-year Wake Forest students attended the Worldwide Wake pre-orientation program focusing on global issues on campus. The students broke into teams to come up with a fictional country and create its flag, seal, history, and national dish.
As part of a workshop dedicated to diversity and inclusion, Politics Professor Melissa Harris-Perry (’94) told students to embrace challenges. “College is supposed to be hard,” she said. “It’s also supposed to be safe. We’re here for you. Come see us if you need us.”
At the First-Year Convocation ceremonies, President Nathan O. Hatch encouraged students to approach faculty members without trepidation. “Faculty love conversational partners,” he said. “So make sure you engage them at every opportunity.” Michele Gillespie, dean of Wake Forest College, likewise urged the attendees to be bold. “Use your education to break down barriers and boundaries created by the familiar and the comfortable,” she said.