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Published August 18, 2012
By Jennifer Sprouse
Johnson City Press
MILLIGAN –– Milligan College was a busy place Saturday, as new members of the student body stepped foot on the campus, toting couches, microwaves and priceless mementos during their official move-in day.
While move-in was from 8 a.m. to noon, students, their parents, faculty, staff and resident assistants didn’t seem to be slowing down.
“Today was our new student move in day here at Milligan and so we welcome all of our new students and we had our returning students, who serve as peer mentors, and a lot of our faculty here to help move them in, so they had a lot of support,” Lee Fierbaugh, vice president for enrollment management and marketing communications said. “A lot of people to help kind of take boxes into the dorms and get them settled in and then there’s a variety of meetings throughout the day to just greet them, welcome them.”
Zach Hollifield, former Daniel Boone High School student, said moving in was a breeze.
“I got to campus at like 8 o’clock because I wanted to do it early and we went to the student center and there was this big line … to get information and stuff,” Hollifield said. “It was cool because President Greer was actually beside the line … meeting every student and their parents as they went through.”
When it came time to unload everything he brought with him to fill his dorm, he said he had plenty of people helping in the process.
“As soon as I opened up my Jeep … to get my stuff out, I was swarmed by like four or five different returning students who don’t have to be here really until tomorrow or Monday, but they came today to just help new students move in. It just made you feel like you were part of the community and welcomed in,” he said. “It was a lot … easier than I thought it would be. I thought it was going to be stressful and kind of like hectic with people … just trying to get everything to their room, but the students were really helpful and just faculty helping out made it a lot easier than I thought it was going to be. I’m just really excited about like everything and getting involved.”
Hollified said he plans to major in Bible with a concentration in youth ministry.
Brooke Whitley, from Oakboro, N.C., said her move-in day was also a pretty smooth experience.
“The whole entire soccer team kind of grabbed everything and brought it straight up,” she said. “It went a lot smoother than I expected.”
She said one necessity to her dorm room would have to be her coffee pot and said she and her roommate were going to sort out decorations and putting up pictures around the room.
“We were just discussing like painting, picture ideas, to put them all together,” Whitley said.
She said she is an interdisciplinary honors major with a focus on intercultural studies.
Saturday night, the new freshman class participated in a matriculation ceremony with the Milligan faculty and their families, signing their names in as official students of the college.
“It’s always exciting,” Fierbaugh said. “This is one of the most exhausting days during the year, but it’s also one of the most fun, because … from sun up to sundown you’re here on campus welcoming and helping them move in, running all over the place, but it’s a lot of fun.”