Class of 2012 Moves In at SMC

08/20/10 — Freshmen Looked Upon As Part of "Next 100 Years of Pioneers"

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

SPARTANBURG -- Spartanburg Methodist College opened its residence halls on Friday to its newest class of Freshmen and another year of an expected 800+ full-time enrollment.

View photos of Move-In on Facebook

"Move-in day is always exciting because we get to see new faces on campus. It's a big change for some students to leave home and come to college, but we provide a lot of resources to help make that transition as easy as possible for them. Our residence life staff is critical in that regard, as they serve as student leaders who are looked upon for support and advice throughout the year," says Stacey Mason, SMC's director of residence life.

Approximately 370 freshmen and 200 sophomores are expected to be living in the seven residence halls at SMC this year. Sophomores will move in to their residence halls on Monday.

The College expects to maintain a stable full-time enrollment for the fall of at least 800, in line with the institution's goals.

"Our enrollment numbers are expected to remain pretty consistent to our fall 2009 headcount. Our new incoming freshman class will be slightly larger than last year, our returning students, slightly lower. Our residence hall numbers will be roughly eight percent above last fall's headcount," says Dan Philbeck, SMC's vice-president of enrollment management.

This year's Freshmen will graduate as the College wraps up its Centennial Celebration, which starts this semester and will last through the 2011-2012 academic year. SMC was founded in 1911, as the Textile Industrial Institute, by Dr. David English Camak.

"The start of this school year is an especially exciting one for us - we are entering our centennial year and celebrating 100 years of Pioneers! As this entering class is the start of our next 100 years of Pioneers - and to help get our next century off to a good start - we have a year of special programming planned that will engage our students, the campus community and the greater Upstate community. Watch for announcements of these events and come help us celebrate this important milestone in our history," says Dr. Colleen P. Keith, president of SMC.

SMC welcomes its Freshmen to campus this year with a new program called Pioneer Power-Up, a four-day experience that will allow them to interact with each other in a variety of activities and settings - and introduce them to life on a college campus.

"Programs like the Pioneer Power-Up are very beneficial to freshmen in that they provide opportunities right away for students to learn about their new home, make new friends, and take away new skills and lessons that will be of great benefit to them throughout the semester. It's a great series of events that we hope everyone will enjoy," says Kim Day, SMC's director of student activities and leadership development.

The signature event of Pioneer Power-Up is the 10th annual Freshmen Day of Service (FDOS), which will be held Saturday. Freshmen are required to participate in FDOS, which is a community service initiative. Students will be broken down into 21 groups that will work Saturday morning on projects at different locations throughout the Spartanburg Community.

There will also be a Welcome Back Block Party on Monday for all SMC students, from 9 pm to midnight, with live entertainment, food, and other activities.

Fall semester classes start at SMC on Wednesday, August 25, at 8 am.

Spartanburg Methodist College begins its 100th academic year of providing quality education to students in a Christian environment on Aug. 25, 2010. More than 90 percent of SMC graduates continue their education at other institutions of higher learning.

For more information, contact Brian Fulkerson, director of public information, at (864) 587-4254 or publicinfo@smcsc.edu