More than 650 new Roanoke College Maroons arrive August 28 for a busy semester.
Just some of the weekend’s highlights include: getting to know the campus, “building R House” (See below), checking out Roanoke and Salem and experiencing the class’s summer reading, (“When the Emperor was Divine),” firsthand through a conversation with a Japanese American veteran. Day classes begin on Wednesday, September 1.
“R House” is the new students’ construction project for Habitat for Humanity. The class of 2014 will build a Habitat house right on campus. This is the fifth year of the “R House” program. The house will be moved to its permanent location after orientation.
On Sunday, Aug. 29, all 650 of the new Maroons will head for downtown Roanoke to be welcomed by Mayor David Bowers and Vice Mayor Dave Trinkle. Festivities include live music at six downtown venues.
Each new student read the summer book selection, “When the Emperor was Divine,” and new Maroons will meet Japanese American veteran, Mr. Grant Ichikawa, who will share his real-life perspective.
On Monday evening, Aug. 30, the Maroons take over the Salem’s Farmer’s Market for Maroonapalooza, a welcoming celebration with the Salem community. This new tradition takes place on the Salem Farmer’s Market, beginning at 8 p.m.
Due to the volume of traffic expected on Saturday as students move in, Market Street between Clay and McClung will be closed Saturday morning beginning at 8 a.m. The street will reopen by afternoon, once most of the students have moved in.
The new Maroons come from 29 different states and forty-nine percent are from Virginia. Fifty-seven percent are female. The most common names are Katherine, Elizabeth Megan/Meghan, Lauren and Stephanie. Forty-three percent are male. The most common names for them are John/Jonathan, Matthew, Andrew, Christopher and William.
Sixty-five incoming freshmen completed high school with a grade point average of 4.0, nine are valedictorians and four are salutatorians. Ten were class presidents, fifteen are entrepreneurs, twelve are published writers. International students are from Ghana, Canada, Gaza Strip and Peru.
Roanoke College is an independent, co-educational, four-year liberal arts college in Salem, Virginia that combines firsthand learning with valuable personal connections in a classic, undergraduate setting.
Roanoke prepares students for their futures through its commitment to providing a true classic college experience. Roanoke is one of just 280 colleges nationwide with a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, the nation’s oldest and most prestigious honor society. The Princeton Review names Roanoke as one of the “best in the Southeast.”
For additional information, call the Roanoke College Public Relations Office at (540) 375-2282. The full orientation schedule is available online at www.roanoke.edu/orientation.