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Sprucing up the campus

Spring has arrived, even in Elkins! After a cold and snowy winter in the West Virginia mountains, God’s gift of new life is re-emerging all around us. That is certainly true on the campus of Davis & Elkins College.

April 27 was Beautification Day at D&E, and 112 members of the faculty, staff and student body got their hands dirty in the soil of campus to plant thousands of red and white flowers, spread mulch and generally spruce up these sacred grounds. Combined they gave 222 hours of community service.

Joni Smith, former first lady of D&E, faithfully led this annual event on campus. D&E’s present First Lady Lisa Wood has assumed the leadership of this special day and engaged the campus community to celebrate and enhance the natural beauty that surrounds us. In a campus wide email, Lisa Wood invited all to “… Bring your gloves, a hat if it’s sunny, and a cheerful heart, as we prepare to have some fun making the D&E campus come alive with red and white blooms from the Gatehouse to the fields!”

What a wonderful sight it was to see the campus alive with volunteers raking, digging and mulching to prepare the grounds for spring, graduation activities, summer camps and more. The beauty of the D&E campus is undeniable from the moment one’s feet step onto the grounds. The visual feast is evident from the majestic mountains ringing the town, the campus’s rolling wooded terrain and the historic buildings adorning lawns and hillsides. When the trees and bushes are in bloom, and the red and white flowers are added across campus, a leisurely stroll makes evident that this is indeed a blessed place.

A place rich in natural beauty is conducive to an environment of learning, contemplation and transformation. Davis & Elkins College offers the opportunity to experience beauty in so many ways. I have witnessed beauty as intellectual horizons expand in our classrooms. I have seen beauty in creative expressions of students in our art studio, stage of our theater and singing God’s praises through our Concert Choir. Our student athletes have made beautiful plays on the athletic field and been equally beautiful in their community service to the people of Elkins. The eloquence of our students leading our chapel services is a thing of beauty. I have witnessed the beauty of the creativity of our Robotics Club, the free tax preparation for county residents by our accounting students, and the willingness of our international students to share the culture of their home country with Elkins Middle School students.

In the gifts of millions of dollars being offered by alumni and friends of D&E to sustain the transformative education of this College, I see beauty in the giving of gifts for others. D&E is a blessed and beautiful place.

Lisa shared a quote in her invitation to the faculty, staff and students to come and get their hands dirty to beautify our campus. In the words of Sitting Bull: “Behold, my friends, the spring is come; the earth has gladly received the embraces of the sun, and we shall soon see the results of their love!”

The journey continues….

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