I had the good fortune to attend a virtual New Student Reception lastnight for incoming students and their families. We had a great panel of upperclass students who were there to share their thoughts on how our ’24s can get their best start.

We asked our panel to talk about the relationship they have with their faculty, and one of our panelists talked about an online summer school class she was in – and her answer surprised me. She said in some ways she actually liked the online version better than an in-person class because it felt less formal. Instead of the faculty member standing in the front of the classroom lecturing, he was in his kitchen, and you could see his young child in the background; this made him seem more relatable, approachable, and made the student ultimately more comfortable. The class was engaging and lively and she sounded like she really enjoyed it.

Summer School One stats 2020All three student panelists talked about the lengths our faculty go to engage our students and connect with them, and be there to help them. I know there are some folks who may be concerned about modality of instruction, but what I heard lastnight was very affirming. I also just saw some great graphics about the summer school experience, which reflects our faculty’s commitment to great teaching and the pedagogical work the faculty have done this summer as they prep for the fall.

Also at the New Student Reception, there were a couple of wonderful videos – which I will not spoil here – that showed the beauty of campus. Since it has been a while since I have physically set foot on campus, the pictures made me really happy and also quite eager to get back to campus! Thought you might also like to see some shots from our photo archive to whet your whistle for what is to come this fall.

The morning sun lights the Benson University Center on Tuesday, March 17, 2015. Students walk to class from the north campus residence halls, on the campus of Wake Forest University, Monday, April 15, 2019. An aerial view of the Z. Smith Reynolds Library, on the campus of Wake Forest University, Tuesday, April 16, 2019. Wake Forest students study and hang out on Hearn Plaza on a beautiful spring afternoon, on Wednesday, April 24, 2019.

We’ll end on a practical, tactical note today. One of the many COVID-related details we are working through for the fall is how to ensure we can keep appropriate social distance in high traffic areas. A place that sees a lot of folks at the start of school is our Post Office in the Benson Center, so they asked me to share the following information:

The university mail service staff is excited about your arrival to campus. Mail Services offers a full array of services from USPS, UPS and FedEx, along with mailing supplies and package preparation services.

As you prepare to come to campus, we ask that you minimize the number of items shipped to campus to avoid crowding and long lines in our mail-room.  The Benson Center will have capacity limits that may increase the time it may take to connect you with your package(s).  We recommend you bring what you need with you as you travel to campus for move-in.

First-year student PO Box keys will be distributed on Move-In day as part of your Residence Life & Housing packet.

Please visit our website for more information on Mail Services.

We know there are going to be some students for whom mailing things to campus is more of a necessity (they are coming from far away and have limited luggage on an airplane, etc). But for those students who can reasonably bring things with them by car rather than mail them, consider doing so.

 

— by Betsy Chapman, Ph.D. (’92, MA ’94)

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