Below is a of orientation activities and opportunities to meet professors, staff and other students at EMU.

First-year students

First-year students should check in at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 25, on the upper level of .

Transfer students

Transfer students should arrive for residence hall move-in at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 26, then check-in for orientation activities at 2:30 p.m., in Common Grounds coffeehouse, located on the lower level of .

Parents

Parent activities are scheduled through 1 p.m. Sunday, August 26. Throughout orientation you鈥檒l be meeting with your child鈥檚 professors, learning about campus, and helping to define what this time will be like for your son or daughter.

Information is also available for and .

The annual faculty-staff conference, to be held Wednesday and Thursday, Aug. 13-14, on the theme, “You’re invited: Experiencing Hospitality,” exploring ways that EMU seeks to be “an inviting community” as it prepares students to serve and lead in a global context.

Main sessions will be held in Martin Chapel of the seminary building.

Jennifer Davis Sensenig

Jennifer Davis Sensenig will open the conference 9:30 a.m. Wednesday with an address on the program theme. She came to the Mennonite faith as an adult, graduated from Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminaries, Elkhart, Ind., and has served as interim lead pastor at Pasadena (Calif.) Mennonite Church. She and her husband currently run an organic farm in Minnesota. A faculty panel will respond to her presentation.

EMU President Loren Swartzendruber will give a “state of the campus” address 8:30 a.m. Thursday.

Other activities will include storytelling by EMU faculty and staff, a voluntary cholesterol screening and worship led by Kenneth J. Nafziger, professor of music.

The annual all-campus picnic will be held on the front lawn Wednesday evening, Aug. 13.

Students who will serve as community advisors or ministry assistants will begin arriving for training sessions Friday, Aug. 15.

First-year students will check into the residence halls Aug. 23. Orientation programs for new students run through Monday, Aug. 25.

Returning students will arrive on campus Sunday, Aug. 24. Fall semester registration will be held Monday, Aug. 25. Fall semester classes will begin 8 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 26. President Loren Swartzendruber will speak at an opening convocation 10 a.m. Wednesday in Lehman Auditorium on the theme, “Called to Change the World.”

EMU’s fall semester runs through Dec. 12.

Some 230 first-year and about 35 transfer students will spend Saturday afternoon, Aug. 27, learning about some of the 47 languages and cultures represented locally.

"We want students to get acquainted with the complexity of living here

First-year students set foot on campus one day, and the next, they stepped out in service to the local community.

For the first time, as part of their orientation program, some 300 EMU students with their orientation leaders spent Saturday, Aug. 28, volunteering at 17 non-profit organizations in and around Harrisonburg.

“It makes sense to me,” said student Terianne Kauffman from Paradise, Pa. “Mennonites believe that service is an important part of being a Christian, so why not start off the year [at EMU] with an experience like this.”

Debbie Keiser, Pioneer, Ohio, slices bagels for serving at the Our Community Place “fun festival.”
Photo by Jim Bishop

Ms. Kauffman and some 14 fellow students spent the afternoon stacking wood, pulling weeds and leveling gravel on a parking lot at the Valley Brethren-Mennonite Heritage Center west of the city as part of the “Community Learning Day of Service.”

Before the students swarmed to area non-profits, they were hosted by and treated to lunch at a number of locally-owned restaurants. Transportation to and from assignments was provided by Harrisonburg Transit and EMU vans.

At Booksavers, student volunteers looked up donated books on the Internet to determine prices for the used volumes that in turn are sold at discount prices to raise funds for relief programs.

“I’ve never done this before, but it’s kinda fun,” said student Jason Hostetter of Harrisonburg, working next to fellow student Maggie Parker from Wichita, Kan. “I’m amazed at how many books they have here.”

Another student group assisted at a “fun festival” sponsored by Our Community Place on N. Main Street across from The Little Grill, a unique restaurant that operates as a worker-owned collective. The group helped make and serve food, did face painting, played volleyball and interacted with festival participants.

(L. to r.): Marc Yoder, Belleville, Pa.; Paul Rutt, Luray, Va.; and Chris Lehman, Chambersburg, Pa., sort donated housewares at the Thrift Shop.
Photo by Jim Bishop

Some 15 students sorted through contributed toys and clothing at Mercy House’s thrift store, which helps raise money to support the homeless shelter.

Other students unloaded donated merchandise and sorted and priced clothing at the local Thrift Shop.

“I’ve never done this before (sorting clothes),” said student Kristi Kolb from Spring City, Pa. “I think it’s cool to help out in this way, and it benefits a lot of people in need. It’s interesting to see what people bring in,” she added.

“I think this gives freshman a better idea of the many different opportunities for service available in the local community,” said sophomore orientation leader Shannon Yoder from Harrisonburg. “If they are interested in getting involved in a certain project, they’ll know how to get in touch with the right people.”

The day began with welcoming speeches from Harrisonburg Vice-Mayor Rodney Eagle; Ron Copland, an Eastern Mennonite Seminary student and founder of The Little Grill restaurant; Adam Starks, a 2003 EMU graduate and manager of Panera Bread, which donated food to the event; and Sylvia Romero of the Shenandoah Valley Migrant Education Agency.

Deanna Durham
Photo by Jim Bishop

, community learning coordinator at EMU, felt that the event was “successful,” adding: “We wanted students to realize from when they first arrive on campus that they are not coming just to a college campus, but to a real community that has both needs and opportunities for learning.”