Busy News Day

In this Issue:

• Tornado watches and warnings this am
• Commencement and Baccalaureate speakers announced
• Spring Break hours of operation website
• Upcoming campus traditions: Wake ‘N Shake and DESK
• Consider Storage Scholars for summer storage and fall move-in

Lots of excitement in the air today. We woke up to bad weather, then had a lot of rain, then had a big announcement. Let’s get to it!

Tornado watches and warnings this am

Between 8 and 9 a.m. this morning we had a tornado watch that escalated to a tornado warning. Students, faculty, and staff received two emails from our Wake Alert warning system, as well as phone calls. For the tornado warning, there was the laptop screen takeover from Alertus, our screen warning software. (If your student was on their laptop and did not get that screen takeover, it means they did not download Alertus as requested. Encourage them to do so here.)

Parents and families, if you want to be receiving campus warnings and are not, you can get those via the Wake Safe app (instructions here). Note that you cannot choose to opt in to which notification methods (e.g., texts, phone calls, etc.) You are either all in or all out, it’s just how the system works.

Commencement and Baccalaureate speakers announced

Around 2 p.m. an announcement about this year’s Commencement speakers went out to campus. Here are a couple of excerpts:

“Award-winning journalist Scott Pelley will deliver Wake Forest University’s commencement address on Monday, May 19. The ceremony will take place on Hearn Plaza and begins at 9 a.m.

Pelley has been reporting for the CBS News program “60 Minutes” for more than 20 years. During this time, half of the major awards won by the program have been for stories he has reported. He was the anchor and managing editor of the CBS Evening News from 2011 to 2017 and the chief White House correspondent of CBS News from 1997 to 1999. He joined CBS News as a reporter based in New York in 1989…..

Also joining us will be baccalaureate speaker Reverend Emma Jordan-Simpson, president of Auburn Theological Seminary.”

P’25s, more info will be shared in the coming days about Commencement, and in the interim you can visit the Commencement website for initial details.

Spring Break hours of operation website

While campus remains open for Spring Break, we know many of our students will be leaving for other destinations, and as such our hours of operation will vary.

The Spring Break Hours of Operation website has been updated to reflect changes in operating hours for services and buildings. Students who are going to be staying on campus for Spring Break would be advised to look at the schedule now and review adjusted hours for services they use and make plans accordingly for their needs.

Upcoming campus traditions: Wake ‘N Shake and DESK

I received my issue of the Office of Civic and Community Engagement e-newsletter yesterday. While it is chock full of great engagement opportunities for our students, two of them are long-standing campus traditions that are worth mentioning:

• “Wake ‘N Shake – Sat. March 22 – Don’t miss this year’s Wake ‘N Shake on Saturday, March 22! Join hundreds of Deacs for our annual dance marathon benefiting the Brian Piccolo Cancer Research Fund and the Comprehensive Cancer Center at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist. Register [students].”
• “Register for DESK 2025 – Team Registration Deadline: Tues., March 25 @ 12 PM. Grab your friends, student org, or hallmates and sign up for one of Wake’s most heartwarming traditions! On Tuesday, April 1, from 3-6 PM (rain date: April 8), join us on Upper Davis Field to help a local elementary school student bring their dream desk to life! You’ll be paired with a student and their family to paint a desk based on their favorite things. It’s creative, fun, and makes a real impact! Follow @wfu_desk on Instagram to receive event updates. Register a team for DESK [students]”

Consider Storage Scholars for summer storage and fall move-in

Storage Scholars is an official moving and storage partner of Wake Forest, founded and operated by students on-campus since 2017. I am sharing a message from Wake Forest alumnus and Storage Scholar co-founder, Sam Chason (’20):

“Dear Wake Forest University Families,

Spring break is just around the corner, and for many families, this may be the last chance to help students plan for move-out before summer arrives. Instead of scrambling in May to figure out where everything will go, Storage Scholars offers a simple and trusted solution—serving over 200 campuses nationwide, including Wake Forest.

Storage Scholars was founded right here in South Hall by a Wake Forest student and has grown into the leading student storage and shipping service in the country. Their team makes it effortless for students to store, ship, or move their belongings—without the stress of hauling everything home.

How It Works:

✅ Summer, Study Abroad & Long-Term Storage: Whether students need storage for the summer, a semester abroad, or even longer, Storage Scholars provides secure, climate-controlled storage with in-room pickup and delivery when they return.

✅ Shipping Anywhere: For students heading home, moving for an internship, or starting a first job after graduation, Storage Scholars makes it easy to ship belongings anywhere in the world.

✅ NEW! Short-Term Storage & Flat-Rate Moving Packages for Off-Campus Housing Transitions: For students moving into a new off-campus apartment and needing storage between leases, Storage Scholars now offers affordable short-term storage and moving solutions to bridge the gap.

Beyond providing storage and shipping, Storage Scholars is deeply invested in the Wake Forest community. Each year, they hire 30+ WFU students to help manage operations, offering valuable hands-on experience in logistics, customer service, and management. To date, they have paid over $4 million to students through on-campus job opportunities, allowing them to earn while helping their peers.

📢 Special Offer: Storage Scholars is running a 20% off promotion through March 15th—the perfect time for students to lock in their storage and shipping plans before spring break.

📦 Spaces fill up quickly—families are encouraged to secure their student’s storage and shipping today.

🔗 Sign Up & Learn More: Storage Scholars – Wake Forest.”

Every family will make their own choices as to how they will work with moving and storage, so what you do is totally up to you. But because Storage Scholars is an official partner, we want to be sure you know that is an option.