Mitchell recently hosted a series of Admitted Maverick Day events on its Statesville and Mooresville campus locations to provide over 300 new students with the opportunity to connect with other Mitchell students, faculty and staff as they prepared for their first semester in college. Admitted students networked and had the opportunity to learn about invaluable resources for their success at Mitchell.
“Admitted Maverick Days were designed to foster early engagement and connection among new students at Mitchell,” said Dr. JJ McEachern, Vice President for Student Services at Mitchell. “The goal of Admitted Maverick Days was to create a supportive and inclusive community for new students, helping them feel welcome and prepared for their time at Mitchell.”
Students participated in a full-day of activities including an exploration of campus, interaction with student support resources, and the identification of key contacts to assist them in navigating their college experience.
“The College prioritized Student Life to foster an interest in experiences beyond the classroom because involved students are more likely to be career-ready and enjoy their college experience more,” said Christine Robbins, Student Recruitment and Orientation Coordinator.
With the facilitation of activities through Green Camps, a nonprofit organization, not all the new student experience was strictly academic, with students participating in fun activities to get to know the campus, their peers, and themselves. One activity that stands out for its innovation is the student’s own identification of academic, career and personal goals through the action of writing these pursuits on a postcard during Admitted Maverick Day, only to have that postcard mailed to them later in the semester as a reminder from themselves about their goals.
Students identified goals like making new friends, taking more personal time for their mental health, working on their time management, and using the resources at Mitchell to advance in their career, be more financially stable, and to find the best version of themselves.
“This event provided a unique opportunity for incoming students to interact with each other in a fun, high-energy environment focused on team-building activities,” continued Dr. McEachern. “Through these activities, students were able to establish connections, build relationships, and set goals for the upcoming semester and academic year.”
