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Program helps students feel ‘at home’ before leaving home
for college
MILLIGAN COLLEGE, Tenn. (June 10, 2010) ― Freshman Danica Collins felt right at home last fall when she moved into her dorm room at Milligan College.
Before enrolling at Milligan, Collins attended Connections, a weekend orientation designed for new and prospective students. The orientation gave Collins a chance to tour the campus, meet professors and learn about student life at Milligan.
This weekend, June 11-12, Milligan will welcome approximately 100 new students and their parents to campus for Connections. This is the second Connections weekend Milligan has hosted this year; the first orientation was held in April.
“Connections helped me make my decision to come to Milligan, and it gave me an up-close and personal feel for the college,” said Collins, a biology major from Jonesborough, Tenn. “I learned that Milligan is all about community.”
In addition to solidifying her decision to attend Milligan, Collins began her freshman year with confidence and friends before she even attended her first class.
“I met some of my closest friends here on campus at Connections,” Collins said.
During Connections, students get their Milligan ID cards, meet their mentors and roommates, select courses, and get their questions answered before classes begin in August.
“Over the years, we have seen a large decrease in the number of students who get cold feet during the summer,” said Tracy Brinn, Milligan’s director of enrollment management. “The Connections weekend assists in making the transition to Milligan smoother for both students and parents. A lot of the apprehension goes away and they are more comfortable when they come in August.”
Parents are also included in the orientation weekend. There is a parent question-and-answer session and an opportunity to gather important financial aid information. In addition to touring the campus with their students, parents are invited to a brunch where they meet Milligan’s president Don Jeanes and members of the college’s parent council.
“The program’s purpose is to connect students and parents to Milligan,” Brinn said.
That goal was met for Lauren Austin, a communications major from Springboro, Ohio. Austin had visited Milligan twice before she attended Connections, but it was the orientation weekend that made her feel she was already a part of the college community.
“I learned a lot about the school. But most important, I got to know a lot of incoming freshmen,” Austin said. “Those relationships carried over to the school year, and it was really nice to come to school already knowing people.”
For more information about Milligan College, visit www.milligan.edu or contact the Admissions Office at 800.262.8337.