MOVING IN
ECU welcomes new and returning students
Freshman student Madigan Raper, center, moves into Gateway East on Wednesday with her mother Michelle Pearson, right, and younger sister Olivia Raper, left. (Photo by Cliff Hollis)
Fifth-generation legacy student moves in
By Jackie Drake
ECU News Services
For some incoming students moving in this week, East Carolina already feels like home.
Madigan Raper, a freshman from Raleigh, grew up coming to ECU football games with her family. Both her parents graduated from ECU, as did several other members of her family, making her a fifth generation Pirate.
“ECU has always been home to me,” she said. While she applied and was accepted to several other schools, ECU was always in consideration. “I never felt pressured to go here at all. ECU is a great school and I’m so excited to be here.”
Her father Steve Raper ’92 and mother Michelle Pearson ’92, along with her two siblings, helped Madigan move into Gateway East on Wednesday. Gateway, ECU’s newest residence hall, opened in the fall of 2015 as a replacement for Belk Hall.
“A lot has changed,” said Steve, who earned a degree in construction management and lived in Aycock Hall, now Legacy Hall, during his freshman year. “Campus is still beautiful. It’s great to see how much it has grown.”
Even with more than 4,000 first-year students coming to campus this week, the move-in process was smooth and well-organized, according to Steve.
“Gateway is lovely,” said Michelle, who lived in Fletcher Hall. “I’m so excited Madigan is coming to ECU. For all of us in the family who went here, ECU launched our careers all over the world. Everything I’ve done spans directly from my BFA, and it’s translated into some amazing things.”
Michelle majored in dance and choreography, and has worked all over the world as a dancer, choreographer and instructor. Steve is the executive vice president of GR&S construction company. Steve and Michelle met while at ECU.
Michelle’s parents attended ECU; Bill Pearson ’70, ’75 majored in biochemistry and Sandra Solomon earned an education degree in 1968. Michelle’s grandmother Jean Hawley of Surf City, Madigan’s great-grandmother, earned her master’s degree in public administration in the ’80s after her sons graduated – a sort of “reverse legacy,” as Michelle says. Finally, Steve’s great-grandmother attended East Carolina when it was a teacher’s college.
“My grandparents are definitely excited I’m here,” Madigan said.
The family legacy was not the only thing that drew Madigan to ECU. She found out about the Honors College through a friend of the family who is a professor. She is planning on majoring in biology and participating in the 4+1 program, where students stay an extra year and also receive their MBA. She hopes to go on to the Brody School of Medicine.
“The Honors College and the 4+1 program seemed like really good ideas, and I just felt more comfortable at ECU,” Madigan said. “I came here because this is a great school.”
ECU student Madigan Raper, fourth from left, with grandfather Bill Pearson, grandmother Sandra Solomon, mother Michelle Pearson, and father Steve Raper, on campus during a preview day for the Honors College. (Contributed photo)
By 9 a.m. on Aug. 17, cars, trucks and SUVs lined the curb along Faculty Way as the first wave of students arrived to move into residence halls at East Carolina University for the fall semester.
Parents and students stacked storage bins, boxes, blankets and TVs on the sidewalk as a team of resident advisors armed with hand carts scurried to help answer questions and move everything up to the rooms.
With more than 28,500 students registered, including more than 4,300 first-year students, campus will be bustling in the coming days and weeks.
“We’re still adding students, and we even still have another orientation session coming up,” said John Fletcher, associate provost for enrollment services. “The 10th day of classes is the magic day for official enrollment numbers, but we’ll be bigger than last year for sure, and graduate school is significantly higher.”
“The check-in traffic was backed up all the way to Krispy Kreme,” said Barry Cook of Concord, whose daughter Cara is a freshman. “But it’s gone smoothly so far. We’ve got everything but the kitchen sink.”
Cara said she’s excited about student life and getting involved on campus. “I’ve heard great things about ECU,” she said.
She plans to major in biology and is interested in being a cardiologist. “I really love science,” she said. “It’s always changing; there’s always something new to learn.”
Students will have the rest of the week and the weekend to get settled in before classes begin on Monday, Aug. 22. Logan Krause, a resident advisor for Cotten Hall, said his most important piece of advice for new students is to go to class.
“A lot of times that freedom is the hardest thing to adapt to between high school life and college life,” he said. “Time management is also important – leaving enough time to study for each class, and to still leave yourself some personal time.”
ECU’s largest welcome back events will be held Sunday, Aug. 21. Student convocation will be held at Minges Coliseum at 4:30 p.m., and then the festivities will move next door to Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium at 5:30 for Pirate Palooza.
Freshman Savannah Richmond has heard a lot about campus life as the third member of her family to live in Jarvis Hall, following in the footsteps of her older sister and her aunt. Her father was also an ECU student.
“I’ve had a lot of advice from family members who have already lived here, so that’s a little different from a lot of students,” she said. “It’s exciting. I’m a little nervous, but that will pass.”
Members of student group Thrift Me Pretty help students move in at Jarvis Hall.
For students who don’t have the benefit of that kind of passed-down experience, a new Living Learning Community (LLC) called Anchors is aimed at giving first-generation college students a head start on transitioning into college life.
“We bring them to campus two weeks early to let them know what resources are available and get them started in two of their classes,” said Dr. Steven Asby, associate director of academic advising.
One is a seminar designed to assist students in being successful in their first year of college and beyond, and the other is a physical activity course promoting a healthy lifestyle. Asby, who was a first-generation college student at ECU himself, said he would definitely have benefited from such a program.
“They get a chance to start to understand what classes are like, what the rec center is like and how to interact with faculty,” he said. “So by the time they get in that lecture hall with 150 other students, they know what they’re doing and they’re a little more comfortable.”
Rodney Davis, a member of the Anchors LLC, said the extra adjustment period has been helpful. “If I had just come and gone straight to class, it would be a mess,” he said.
Maya Thomas and her mom, Veronica, made the four and-a-half-hour drive from Greenbelt, Maryland to Greenville on Aug. 16 – a day ahead of the official start to move-in.
Maya was among the first to move in to Jarvis Hall, noting the process had been organized and easy.
“I’m nervous because I don’t know anyone, but excited,” said Maya, who was drawn to ECU for its speech language pathology program. She interned her high school senior year at a special education school, which led to her decision.
“This is my baby,” said Veronica about her youngest child. “It’s going to be hard, but I know she’s going to do really well.”
Veronica said she didn’t have the opportunity to live on campus when she was a college student, so she’s excited for her daughter to experience residence hall life as a freshman. “I want her to absorb it and enjoy it,” she said.
Maya, who plans to minor in leadership studies, will be living in the Jarvis Leadership Program LLC. “I’m most excited about meeting new people and becoming involved in things I’ve never done before,” she said.
Barry Cook, father of ECU freshman Cara, carries belongings into Jarvis Hall.
Kodi Jones, who also will be a part of the leadership community, echoed Maya’s thoughts.
“I’m just looking forward to meeting a diverse group of people within my community,” said Kodi, adding the next two days will be filled with programming specific to the community, which strives to empower students for academic success through involvement in leadership, citizenship and relationship building as well as enhancing their personal growth and leadership development.
Kodi will be paying her own way through school and has worked all summer as a lifeguard. She also has scholarships and grants to help with tuition.
“I just knew I had to do it, and I wanted to be here,” said Kodi, an intended nursing major from Camp Lejeune. “When I’ve been to campus on visits, it always felt like home.”
After living in California and Texas, Kodi was able to attend all four years of high school at Camp Lejeune High. She didn’t look outside of the state for college. “North Carolina has become my home,” she said.
For mom Dawn, retired U.S. Marine Corps, and her husband, Erick, who remains in active duty, they know Kodi is ready for the change. “I hope she meets a good group of people to help her grow and learn,” Dawn said. “She’s ready to go. It’s time.”
Freshman Macy Weeks of Goldsboro said she’s looking forward to being a part of campus, making new friends and attending Pirate football games this fall. “Just the whole atmosphere of college and the change. It’s going to be different but exciting,” she said. “It’s close to home but not too close.”
Weeks’ parents, Eric and Crystal, said they have been blessed with a great daughter, who turns 18 in two weeks. “We’re just hoping the Lord fulfills what he has planned for her,” Eric said. “I want her to be an integral part of ECU and to make her mark.”
As the stress and excitement of move-in day fade and classes begin, Fletcher wants students to remember another important date: Oct. 1. That’s the new, earlier opening date for both current and prospective students to apply for financial aid using FAFSA – the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.
Students and parents should also be aware that the university will be testing its emergency notification system at noon on Aug. 17, 18 and 19. All aspects of the system, including outdoor speakers, will be tested.
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