Lebanon Valley College Welcomes Nearly 450 New Students at Orientation

Freshmen students will move in August 21

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A student pours water from his hometown into the urn at the 2013 Water Ceremony, a favorite LVC tradition

ANNVILLE, PA (08/13/2014)(readMedia)-- Lebanon Valley College will welcome nearly 445 new students Aug. 21 for Orientation – "Set for Success"; now extended to include four days of activities and events to introduce these new students to the Annville campus. In this new schedule, Move-In Day and Convocation will take place on Thursday, Aug. 21.

Residence halls open for new students Aug. 21 from 8 a.m. to noon, and LVC student-athletes will be on hand to carry boxes, refrigerators, televisions, and more to the students' rooms. The incoming class includes 409 freshmen and 35 transfer students who hail from 14 states and Saudi Arabia. They represent 251 high schools and among the group are 12 valedictorians and five senior class presidents.

A favorite LVC tradition, the Water Ceremony takes place from 11 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. in the Peace Garden. New students bring a small amount of water representative of home, pour it in one of four urns that have been placed in the Peace Garden, and sign the registry. Once collected, all water is poured into the pond as a symbol of the support of the extended community.

New students and their families will mark the formal opening of the 2014-2015 academic year at Opening Convocation at 1:30 p.m. in LVC's Sorrentino Gymnasium of the Arnold Sports Center. Student Government officers will lead incoming students through a receiving line of Lebanon Valley College's faculty, administration, and trustees in full academic regalia. Opening Convocation will be streamed live at www.lvc.edu/LVCtv.

On Sunday, Aug. 24, the new students will complete their first community service project as members of the Class of 2018. A program involving the entire incoming class working at 15 different stations has been designed in support of LVC's goal to "prepare students for a life of service to others," a key tenet of the College's mission statement. The projects will take place in the Arnold Sports Center Arena from 2:30-4:30 p.m.

The complete schedule for Orientation is available at www.lvc.edu/orientation.