D&E’s 2020 Incoming Class Gets Official Welcome

Davis & Elkins College hosted its first ceremony on Myles Plaza with the Matriculation Convocation for the 2020 incoming class. The traditional event that serves as a welcome to the College community for new students was postponed earlier this year. Through the generosity of Board of Trustees Emerita June Myles, work continues on the $6.7 million renovation to the plaza and adjoining Myles Center for the Arts. In addressing the class, Davis & Elkins College President Chris A. Wood compared the construction of the site to the students’ transformative collegiate journey, which is the result of careful planning, hard work and knowledgeable workers. “This location was intentionally chosen for this ceremony today because it is a powerful symbol for each of you … each life represented in the entering class of D&E,” Wood explained. “Like the ongoing construction at the Myles Center, your lives are undergoing significant change, a major transformation, and progressing toward a completion evidenced at your college graduation. Like this building, your future is under construction and the result will be a thing of beauty and opportunity.” Wood pointed out that the 2020 incoming class is unlike any of its predecessors as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. “Your introduction and experience of D&E has been vastly different than all other students,” Wood said. “This College prides itself on a very hands on personalized approach to your growth academically, socially, spiritually and emotionally. COVID has forced us to change so much, and yet you have shown an amazing perseverance to find ways in our increasingly virtual world to establish yourself in this College community and make the transition from high school to college.” Wood also told the class that the current academic year provides opportunities to reflect upon societal events, especially social justice and equal justice. He encouraged the students to learn to enter into civil dialogue. “I am pleased as president of this College to sponsor the President’s Diversity and Inclusion Initiative to allow all of us to examine and live out the values this College espouses,” Wood said. “As you get to know your new classmates, you are discovering they come from many places and many different life experiences. You have classmates that differ from you in their political views, and when it comes to faith, they may be religious, spiritual

Robert Stephenson signs the Book of Matriculation as part of the ceremony welcoming new students to Davis & Elkins College.

or agnostic. You have classmates that have strong opinions about the most controversial social issues of our day that may or may not agree with you. You and your classmates are a diverse bunch … and we celebrate that. Consistent with our Presbyterian heritage, we believe diversity is a gift of God.” Myles also addressed the group, congratulating them on making a commitment to earning a college degree and recognizing that the pandemic has changed the way they may have imagined their freshman year. “Most generations experience a national event that is a turning point,” Myles explained. “Mine was the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. For others it was 9/11. For you, it is COVID. One day you will look back at photos of people wearing masks and being socially distant and it will remind you of your freshman year.” Myles, along with Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs Dr. Rob Phillips, and Student Assembly President Elijah Cordle, declared their commitments to each of the participants as Davis & Elkins College students. Vice President for Enrollment Management and Institutional Advancement Dr. Rosemary Thomas presented the class members hailing from 22 counties in West Virginia, 26 states across the nation and 11 countries around the world.

Chaplain, Counselor Step Up Efforts

In a time when our mental, emotional and spiritual wellbeing need more attention than ever, Benfield-Vick Chaplain the Rev. Laura Brekke Wagoner and Director of Counseling and Wellness Margaret Falletta have stood strong with support. Virtual sessions and words of encouragement reached the campus community to ease anxieties and relieve stress. “The COVID-19 pandemic is unprecedented and with that there has been unprecedented grieving, adjustment and stress,” Falletta said. “I believe that as a result we have all become more aware of the challenges we sometimes face when we try to practice self-care, but also more aware of why it is so important for us to do so.” Outreach efforts – Brekke Wagoner’s “Peace in a Time of Anxiety” email series and “Wednesday Word” online worship service, along with Falletta’s Wellness Wednesday newsletters and virtual Lunch & Learn sessions – provided the campus community with grounding in a time of uncertainty. When the campus returned to operations in August, Brekke Wagoner and Falletta made some adjustments to their offerings while keeping their focus on providing a solid support for wellbeing. “Wednesday Word” now has its own YouTube channel so that it can be open to a wider audience.

Falletta is continuing the Wellness Wednesday newsletters to students on a monthly basis and is adding weekly social media posts, both with themes of awareness and prevention. In-person Wellness Wednesday programs with social distancing, focus on outreach efforts to help students prioritize and value their mental health.

“Our goal is to use the means that are available to empower our students to, both on and off screen, find creative and safe ways to pro-actively connect with one another and to take care of themselves,” Falletta said.