Elmhurst University recently welcomed more than 700 new students to campus, along with family members and friends, for New Student Orientation and the start of the 2026-27 academic year.
With sunny late-summer weather as a backdrop, 716 first-year and transfer students, as well as students from the Elmhurst Learning and Success Academy, got to know the campus and each other last week by taking part in group games, service projects, information sessions and other orientation activities. On Monday, Aug. 31, they joined returning students and graduate students for the first day of classes.
For many of the first-year students, college life began with the move into their residence halls. Student-athletes eased the process by helping to unload cars and then carrying the fans, mini-fridges and ubiquitous brightly colored, extra-large moving bags up the stairs and down the hallways.
Any student looking for decorating and organizing tips would have done well to visit Mikaela Vazquez and Paola Campos’ room in Niebuhr Hall. The first-years, both nursing majors, outfitted their double to a T, from the color-coordinated storage ottomans (which also work as stepstools to boost them into their lofted beds), to the tabletop ice maker, to the multishelf carts that were neatly—and completely—stocked with every imaginable late-night-study snack food.
Both are eager to make Elmhurst their new home.
“I specifically chose this school because I wanted a smaller community where I felt like I was welcome, and where I have people to go to if I need it,” said Vazquez, who is from Chicago. “I’m just excited to put myself out there and talk to people and really get into the nursing.”
“I’m looking forward to new friends, new environments, new classes—I’m excited for all that,” said Campos, from LaGrange, Illinois.
As a special welcome to campus, the University hosted a reception for a group of first-year students and their families who are participating in Bluejay First, a program designed to support first-generation college students with information and resources to help them succeed.
New Student Orientation got underway with a luncheon for students and their families beneath a huge white tent on the campus mall. After lunch, parents said goodbye to their students and were treated to a congratulatory toast with President Troy D. VanAken, while students began their introduction to college life.
During New Student Convocation, President VanAken pointed out a number of things that Elmhurst’s newest Bluejays have in common, including that 85% are from Illinois and that 25% are student-athletes. He also noted the “wealth of special talents and skills” among them. For example, one student is an EMT, one can walk on their hands, and another collects Crocs—the footwear, not the reptile.
He ended with some friendly advice—“three things” for students to keep in mind throughout their college experience:
- “I Belong”: Know that you belong at Elmhurst and in society
- Consume Knowledge: Pour yourself into your studies
- Dream Big, Fly High: Focus on the future
“We look forward to getting to know all of you,” he said. “See you around campus!”