Elon University
Responses from the Student Interview
From a student who identifies as Majors: Strategic Communications and Communication Design
Minor: Business Administration
Student Self Identifies as: Caucasian Straight Female
Summary
I’m in Greek life, Public Relations Student Society of America, and the Catholic Campus Ministry.
Background
Gender Identity: Female
Race/Ethnicity: Caucasian
Sexual Orientation: Straight
High School Experience: Public high school in Davidson, North Carolina with a graduating class of about 650. There was a culture of going to college.
First-generation college student: No
Majors: Strategic Communications and Communication Design
Minor: Business Administration
Extracurricular Activities: I’m in Greek life, Public Relations Student Society of America, and the Catholic Campus Ministry.
Did any of your extracurricular activities have a particularly big impact on your experience? In what ways?
Being part of the Catholic Campus Ministry is what brought me most of my close friends here at Elon, and it’s been a large part of my identity here.
Academic Experience
Can you describe the weekly coursework for your majors?
Strategic Communications is usually reading, writing, or creating strategic plans. Communication Design is very project-based, so working on more long-term projects. We typically do four to five projects a semester.
Is there anything that you feel either of your majors’ departments do especially well or especially poorly?
Something they do especially well is giving people real-life experience that they can put on a portfolio, such as creating tangible things in Communication Design, or creating actual strategic plans that have the potential to be implemented.
Can you describe the learning environment? Do you think it’s particularly competitive or collaborative?
It can be a little bit of both. It depends on what classes you’re in. I think that Strategic Communications is more competitive compared to Communication Design.
What has been your favorite class you’ve taken for your major?
Corporate Publishing because we created things we can actually use for our own benefit when searching for jobs. We created resume designs and posters that could be used on our portfolios.
What has been your least favorite class you’ve taken for your major?
Media Writing because it was very much geared toward Journalism majors. It was a lot of writing stories which wasn’t as relevant to Strategic Communications.
How accessible have the professors in your department been?
Pretty accessible. They’re happy to stay after class or help out during office hours.
Why did you choose your major? Are you happy with your choice?
I’m very happy with my choice overall. I chose it because I was interested in Marketing, but I was also interested in integrating creative things into it. That was exactly what Strategic Communications did.
Reasons to Attend
1) It’s a good-sized school because you always have chances to meet new people, but you always see familiar faces so it has that small school feel. [There are about 6,000 undergraduate students.]
2) Since it’s a smaller school you’re never going to be in a super large lecture hall, and you’ll really know your professors, and they’ll know you. For me, that’s been helpful to my success in the Communications School. [The average class size is 20.]
3) Elon’s J-term is a really unique opportunity to study abroad, especially since there are so many study abroad options. It’s a unique way to go abroad without having to go for a whole semester.
Reasons Not to Attend
1) If you’re coming from a big city or an urban area, Elon can be a bit of a shock for you. It can seem like you’re far away from things, but for me coming from North Carolina, it’s what I expected. I know a lot of people that come from New York City who have been shocked to see how limited they are in what they can do without a car.
2) If you’re not interested in joining a Greek organization, or if you’re against it, it can be hard to be social here because so many events revolved around Greek life whether that’s their philanthropy events or nightlife.
Around Campus
Where have you lived on campus?
Freshman: Danieley Flat with one roommate and five flatmates.
Sophomore: Oaks apartment with one roommate and two others in the apartment.
Junior: Oaks apartment in a single, with three others in the apartment.
How was transitioning from Davidson to Elon, North Carolina?
I live in a college town very similar to Elon, so it wasn’t too difficult of a transition.
Can you describe the level of safety you’ve experienced on and around campus?
I’ve never felt unsafe walking between buildings or home from the library by myself at night. There were some experiences where other people felt unsafe, but overall I’ve felt very safe here.
What is your favorite off-campus restaurant?
I love going to the Chick-fil-a on Huffman Mill road.
What is your favorite place to get away from campus?
I love going to Salvation Coffee on Church Street when The Oak House is super packed.
Social Opportunities
What kind of weekend activities or nightlife do you participate in at Elon?
I typically go for hanging out with friends at home.
Are there regular places you go or things you do on certain nights?
I believe movies are available Saturday and Sunday evening, and then I think the Student Union Board (SUB) usually has things almost every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night.
What are your favorite events or activities?
The SUB concert was a blast. I loved that.
What is the impact of Greek life on nightlife?
I think it limits where people can go, but I don’t really go out. I feel like the people in Greek organizations feel obligated to go Greek nightlife events, so there’s not a big culture of going out to other bars like Frogs or Paulies.
How happy are you with the nightlife? Is there anything you would change?
I don’t really have an opinion about our nightlife. If there were anything I could change, I think I’d be more willing to go to things if they opened up earlier.
Campus Culture
How did you meet your closest friends?
Through orientation and the Catholic Campus Ministry.
How would you describe the social scene?
I think people just identify strongly with the organizations they’re involved in, whether that’s Greek life, a club sport, or a religious organization. They have strong ties to hanging out with that group all the time.
How would you describe the student body?
There are a lot of Northeasterners who have attended private schools. Everyone drives a Jeep. [The top states are NC, MA, NJ, NY, CT, & MD.]
To what extent do people of different races and sexual orientations mix socially?
Socially, I think they mix regularly, but since Elon isn’t the most diverse place, it’s hard to do that. There is room for improvement. [In the Class of 2022, 17% were students of color.]
What is the impact of Greek life on social life?
I feel like Greek life has kind of taken over social life here since so many people are part of it. Identifying with a Greek organization is a huge part of being an Elon student and having a group to go to. I’ve heard it’s so hard to be a guy on Elon’s campus if you’re not part of a Greek organization.
Do you think people are happy with their choice of Elon by senior year? Do you think people leave loving Elon?
Yes, all of the time. Most of my closest friends are huge Elon fans and love everything about it.
Careers
Has the alumni network helped you find internships or jobs?
I’ve connected with Elon alumni on LinkedIn, and when I did Elon in New York this summer, they did a great job of helping us meet Elon alumni in the city.
Have you used the career office? If so, how helpful was it?
I’ve used them for refining my resume, writing cover letters, and doing mock interviews. I think all of those have been so helpful to my experience in finding both on campus and summer internship positions. I came into college not knowing how to write a resume or cover letter, and it’s been one of the most beneficial things for my career.
Have you learned any computer programs or computer languages that will be helpful professionally?
Especially for Communication Design, I’ve learned a lot about Adobe Suite. We’ve learned InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, Adobe Audition, and Premiere. Those are all integral to my career in communications.