Westmont Magazine Grateful Students Live & Learn in Community

An overwhelming sense of happiness pervaded campus as Westmont welcomed 410 impressive new students from around the world to college life in person during Orientation on August 26. The class of 2025, including 58 new transfer students, arrived with high energy and optimism after persevering through the pandemic. Most of these high- achieving students spent the better part of the previous year learning exclusively online due to COVID-19. They greatly appreciated the vibrant greeting with fist bumps and smiles. “Arriving at Westmont for Orientation in person with over 400 new classmates proved to be somewhat overwhelming and daunting as well as exciting and exhilarating,” says Angela D’Amour, dean of student engagement.

Twenty-three of the new students have spent two or more years living abroad, and 15 are international students. The new students represent 18 countries and 33 U.S. states. Several, like Roxanna and Rosario Montané, shared stories of incredible journeys and perseverance to arrive in Santa Barbara and begin their college journey.

After moving into residence halls and becoming acquainted with the campus, families enjoyed the Welcome Session and Service of Commitment, held outdoors under a large white tent on Carr Field in accordance with county and state COVID-19 regulations. With temperatures in the mid-70s, families soaked in the stunning backdrop of the Santa Ynez Mountains during these events. Several large tents throughout campus have housed outdoor dining and allowed professors to move large classes outside.

The college resumed one important element of Orientation after forgoing it last year. The Service of Commitment, a formal ceremony with robed professors, welcomed students to the Westmont community. Bagpipe fanfare, a longstanding Westmont tradition, then led new students on their First Walk through the Formal Gardens to Kerrwood Lawn, anticipating their Last Walk that occurs at Commencement from Kerrwood to Carr Field.

The Center for Student Success welcomed and celebrated 67 first-generation students and their guests at a new, one-day First Connections Pre-Orientation. “These students, the first in their families to attend a four year college, connected with each another and with faculty and staff before the traditional Orientation and the start of classes,” D’Amour says. “The students appreciated the program, and the Center for Student Success hopes to continue to offer First Connections in the future.”

During the summer, student success coaches offered a new resource: discussing and answering questions about choosing classes. Many students took advantage of this popular assistance and felt better equipped to register for classes and start college.

Campus Pastor Scott Lisea led the first chapel August 30 in Murchison Gym, the first service in person for more than half the student body due to COVID-19 restrictions last year. More than a thousand masked students radiated energy as they sang with the talented Chapel Band. For the first time, students completed a health assessment and used a QR code on their phones to register their attendance.

After missing a year due to the pandemic, the New Student Retreat returned Sept. 10-11 with much excitement as 130 new students and 24 student leaders hiked, zip-lined, and swam in the pool at Forest Home in Ojai. The event, intentionally scheduled early in the fall semester, helps new students build relationships, deepen connections to the Westmont community and consider how to grow in their faith. The theme this year comes from Job 12:13: “With God are wisdom and strength, he has counsel and understanding” (NRSV). Lisea shared inspiring messages about staying connected to Christ, and Mariah Velasquez, associate director of the Martin Institute, helped coordinate Soul Stations throughout the retreat center. Retired physics professor Ken Kihlstrom led an evening of stargazing.

Connect, the Intercultural Programs fall retreat, returned September 17-19 to San Marcos Christian Camp after being canceled last year due to COVID-19. Diana explored issues of race, identity, religion and Latinx discipleship. “The biggest highlight was just being together,” says ICP Director Blake Thomas. “Connect is special because it gives students of color a chance to build community and grow and process together in an environment free from the pressures of being an ethnic/racial and cultural minority in the majority’s space. Students ask questions and talk about experiences they may feel uncomfortable raising on campus, and they support and learn from one another, finding encouragement to face the challenges ahead.”

“Westmont has been a fantastic change because my professors implement their faith in every class, which is so new,” says first-year student Ben Brandel ’25, who graduated from a public high school. He has been motivated in his rigorous studies, has easily made friends and has been impressed by the amount of encouragement he’s received. “The best part of the semester has been meeting people I can see being lifelong friends, growing independently away from my family and taking classes in areas I may pursue as a career,” he says. “Also, I’m applying to study abroad for a whole semester. So unreal.”