Alvernia greets record class with weekend of welcome

Incoming class to impact the local community with service and business services

�鶹��Ƶ welcomes its record incoming class of first-year and transfer students with a weekend of new student orientation events that began Friday and continues into the first week of classes.

The weekend began at check-in at the brand-new pavilion installed on campus. 352 residential students, 195 male (56%) and 155 female (44%), moved into their residence halls.

Friday also featured a recently established tradition, the Luminary Celebration, at sunset in the university’s Quad which is lit up with paper lanterns that bear each of the first-year students’ names. Students are also paired with upper-class students, faculty, staff and alumni mentors at this event to “light” their path forward in this new chapter.

Ahead of the Luminary Celebration, �鶹��Ƶ President Glynis A. Fitzgerald, Ph.D. addressed the incoming class at opening convocation. She shared: “Sometimes, your light will become exactly what someone else needs to find their own way forward. That is what the Luminary Ceremony celebrates. Each of you brings a unique light into this community. No two lights are exactly alike. But together, they create something far brighter than any one of us could alone... And may the words of Saint Francis continue to remind us all that light surrounds us—in creation, in one another, and within ourselves. Thank you, and let us light the way together.”

The class broke yet another record, with the highest number of students enrolled in the O’Pake Fellows Program at 38. The program, offered through the O’Pake Institute for Economic Development and Entrepreneurship, provides high-achieving students with the ability to work hands-on with entrepreneurs, small businesses, regional partners, and professors. Qualified students that enter the program are provided with numerous hours of professional training and mentoring to prepare them to work with our clients. Once trained, they are partnered with specific clients to provide services that match their expertise.

“We are thrilled to welcome our largest incoming cohort of Fellows as they begin their journey gaining meaningful, real-world experience alongside our growing client portfolio,” said O’Pake Insitute, Director of Student Services Katie Hestor, M.A. Their contributions expand our capacity to serve more than 100 clients each semester while making a tangible impact on entrepreneurship, innovation, and community engagement.”

The Fellows Program is not the only way the incoming class will serve the local community. 25 students reported previous volunteer experience at various community organizations, like Habitat for Humanity, the Salvation Army, Big Brothers/Big Sisters as well as at animal shelters and special Olympics events.

Additionally, the entire incoming class will participate in the annual Orientation Day of Service. This year, the Holleran Center for Community and Global Engagement partnered with VOiCEup Berks and Olivet Boys & Girls Club of Reading and Berks County. Students will help prepare the spaces for the new school year through projects like deep cleaning, outdoor beautification, and creating welcome displays. Students will volunteer at each of Olivet’s six locations, assembling welcome kits for club members.

“When I picture one of our Club Kids walking through our doors on their first day back, I imagine them being welcomed by clean spaces, banners, treats, and handwritten notes reminding them that they matter,” said Kristen Orgera, Development Manager, Olivet Boys & Girls Club. “As Alvernia's incoming students begin their own college journey, they're helping our members begin the school year feeling welcomed and encouraged. We're grateful to Alvernia for partnering with Olivet Boys & Girls Club to make this possible, and we hope this day inspires many students to return as volunteers and mentors.”

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