Gardner-Webb Community Welcomes New Students to Campus

Enthusiasm High on Fall Semester Move-In Day

Because of Covid-19 health and safety guidelines, move-in day on Aug. 17, 2020, looked different as new resident students arrived at Gardner-Webb University for the fall semester. Despite face coverings and physical distancing, the students’ excitement shown through.

Alexi Card, Jordan Plummer, Michael Causey and Andrew Ritts stood on the corner at the stoplight holding signs of welcome and shouting greetings to those who passed by. “I am excited to be back on campus, because I miss all my friends,” Causey shared.

More than 550 students participated in new student orientation before classes started on Aug. 19, 2020. Helping those students adjust to life on campus are the Big Sisters and Big Brothers. Mahagany Huiett, Class of 2022, said she is happy to encourage and mentor freshmen. When she was new on campus, she said making new friends helped her adjust. “Being a big sister means being a family and supporting freshmen,” she observed.

Big Sister Madison Maynard, Class of 2021, is excited to be back on campus to share her senior year with friends and to advise new students. “Gardner-Webb has created such a safe place for us to come back to by putting new practices into place,” she noted.

Although physical distancing will require students to keep 6 feet apart, Maynard suggested ways to bridge the gap. “In the classes you have in person, talk to your table neighbors and the neighbors in the hall,” she advised. “Just say, ‘Hey,’ and get to know them. It’s easy to get to know people in the dorms. I lived in Spangler my first two years, and it is great to get to know everyone in the hall and have friends around you. It’s the small things, like saying hello, or waving, or giving them a little gift, and getting to know them. It’s about making personal connections.”

As new student Emily Mosier, of Lincolnton, N.C., moved into her residence hall, she shared her excitement at taking a step towards independence. Her parents, Brandi and Jeff Mosier, expressed the same feelings that every parent has when bringing a child to college for the first time. “I am nervous, and sad, but we aren’t going to talk about that,” Brandi stated. “I am not quite ready. I am really proud of her though; she is going for her dreams. She wants to be a neonatal nurse. We’ve been preparing for this day for about eight months, since she got accepted.”

Jeff added, “We are excited for her to get this experience, for her venture out on her own. She is the oldest of six children, taking that next step, wanting to go out on her own.”

Located in the North Carolina foothills, Gardner-Webb University is a private, Christian, liberal arts university. Gardner-Webb emphasizes a strong student-centered experience and rigorous academics to prepare students to become effective leaders within the global community. Ignite your future at Gardner-Webb.edu. 

After move-in day, students participated in several activities to introduce them to each other and to Gardner-Webb.