Congratulations and Welcome from the FYE Team December 2023 - May 2024

Congratulations on your student joining the Class of 2028 at W&L! As the First-Year Experience (FYE) team, we are here to help your student from now until their sophomore year. Our office includes:

Jason Rodocker - Associate Dean of Students and Dean for First-Year Experience
Ronda Bryant - Associate Dean of Students
Kim Hodge - Assistant Dean of Students
Mariel Potter - Student Affairs Operations and First-Year Coordinator

We will guide your student through the process of joining our community and answer any questions they might have regarding academic, co-curricular, or other matters.

We recognize the significance of the parenting/guardian role and strongly encourage you to help your student generate questions and ensure they are making informed decisions. We look forward to partnering with you to encourage your student to take ownership of their educational experience.

Please require your student to communicate directly with us before contacting us on their behalf, if necessary. Going forward, we will conduct the majority of first-year student communication by corresponding directly with your student. We would appreciate your support in encouraging them to check W&L e-mail on a regular basis, which is the primary mode of communication the university utilizes when conducting business with students. We will certainly encourage your student to share information and consult with you often.

Please make sure they have read carefully through the FYE website at my.wlu.edu/student-life/first-year-experience. Please note the "my" in "my.wlu.edu" takes you to the university's internal website with significantly more resources for current students and parents. The website is also a great resource for you with all major first-year correspondence documented so you know the key messages your student has received.

If you have questions that are not answered on the website, please have your student contact us to seek the answer. Allowing them to take the lead and relay answers to you will help them develop independence and understanding that will be of benefit while attending W&L and after graduation. If your student is ever in doubt of who to contact or how to proceed, please send them to us.

Your student should refer to the enrollment checklist in their admission portal account to make sure they complete all steps required by the Office of Admissions to finalize their eligibility to enroll.

We recently sent your student a welcome email similar to this message and we will send them a mailing in early April with a summer timeline. The mailing and follow-up communications will answer many questions and guide them through the transition to W&L.

Important dates to mark in your calendar include:

  • August 24, 2024 (Saturday) - First-Year Move-In (students will be assigned a 30-minute arrival time between 9 am - 1 pm).
  • August 24 - September 4, 2024 - First-Year Orientation.
  • October 4-6 (Friday-Sunday) - Parents and Family Weekend - We encourage you to make reservations as soon as possible since lodging fills up quickly.

Some common points of interest include:


We look forward to working with your student and hope to meet you during move-in, parent orientation, or parents and family weekend. Welcome to W&L!

Sincerely,

Jason Rodocker
Dean for First-Year Experience
540-458-8753
jrodocker@wlu.edu

Ronda Bryant
Associate Dean of Students
(540) 458-4111
rbryant2@wlu.edu

Kim Hodge
Assistant Dean of Students
(540) 458-4041
hodgek@wlu.edu

Mariel Potter
Student Affairs Operations and First-Year Coordinator
(540) 458-8037
mpotter@wlu.edu