EC Welcomes the Luminous Class of 2030!

As incoming members of the Luminous Class of 2030 and their families arrived on the Elmira College campus for Fall Welcome, they found a campus ready for them. Music was playing, Simeon the Soaring Eagles mascot was dancing, and an army of students and staff waited to help them move their belongings.

Periodic clouds brought a slight breeze as the flock of student-athletes and Orientation Leaders helped families move boxes, bags, roller drawers, suitcases, refrigerators, cases of soda, and more into the first-year residence halls.

The energy buzzed as families unpacked, visited places on campus, and then attended the traditional President’s Welcome Ceremony on Cowles Lawn.

“I was nervous at first, but now I am getting more excited,” said Kateri “Kit” Fish ’30, of Binghamton, New York. Fish is double majoring in Theatre and Media Studies, Communications, and Design.

Fish arrived on campus with her cat, Prince Caspian, who will live with her in the residence hall.

“EC has amazing programs and they’re letting me bring my cat. This is awesome,” she beamed.

Alex Boles ’30, a History major from Lansing, New York, also shared how he was equal parts nervous and excited. He was nervous to be away from home for the first time, but excited to have a new type of freedom.

“I like that I’ll be able to live on my own and be adultish,” he shared.

“I’m excited for him,” said his mother, Chrissy Boles. “I’m realizing I raised him to do this, to go out and have his own life. He’s got the tools.”

According to Patrick Gillette, Director of Admissions, “This year’s first-year students come from 25 states and territories and 11 countries. They will join a student body drawn from 40 states and territories and 25 countries.” Gillette provided some additional fun facts about the incoming group:

• Average GPA is 3.4, and 100% are Elmira College Scholarship recipients

• Traveling from afar:

• Arnav Deshmukh ’30 traveled the furthest, joining from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: 8,353 miles from campus.

• Shradha Kesari ’30 traveled the farthest within the continental United States: 2,950 miles from her home in Fremont, California

• Nya Gorewit-Adams ’30 only trekked 400 from West Washington Avenue in Elmira, the shortest distance for the Class.

• Seven students are following in the footsteps of family members who attended EC, and five students currently have siblings at EC.

• Some of the other countries students traveled from include Canada, Greece, India, Mexico, Pakistan, Russia, Rwanda, Slovakia, Sweden, Turkey, and the United Kingdom.

• States and territories represented beyond New York are Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and West Virginia

He also shared a special note about this particular class.

“You have an opportunity and responsibility to live up to the standards set by the 171 classes which have preceded you,” he told them. “As denoted on the back of your beanies, you will be graduating [in 2030] on the 175th anniversary of the college’s founding.”

As families and students shared what brought them to EC today, many expressed how welcome they felt. Right from the start, they received personal attention.

As Jessica White and Lisa Simons of Athens, Pennsylvania waved farewell to their son, William White ’30, they shared how much EC’s attention to each student impacted their decision.

“I’ve been impressed with how welcoming and inclusive everyone has been,” shared Simons.

“Throughout the day people have come up and said, ‘I remember you,’” said Jessica White, with Simons adding, “And we were only here once before.”

In his first welcome address as Elmira College President, Dr. John F. Dolan, Elmira’s 16th President, remarked that building a support network is part of what makes EC unique.

“But perhaps what makes Elmira most special is our sense of community,” he said. “For generations, students have formed lifelong friendships here, shared in proud traditions, and found a second home on this beautiful campus. From Mountain Day to the Holiday Banquet and beyond, you will soon discover that Elmira is your place.”

As is tradition, the ceremonies ended with the ‘Elmira Hug,’ when family and friends hug their student and say their goodbyes.

Following the hug, family and friends were encouraged to get on the road and let their students immerse themselves fully in campus life.

Returning students will arrive Sunday, August 30, and the academic year will officially begin with the first day of classes on Monday, August 31.