First-year students bring fun and games along with books to QuestWeek, starting Aug. 14

Janel Shoun | 

  • To see lots of exciting QuestWeek photos, click here.

A wave of first-year students, followed by a wave of Mountain Dew, will roll onto campus beginning Sunday, Aug. 12. First-year students are expected to move into the residence halls on Sunday and Monday, and orientation, or QuestWeek, begins Tuesday, Aug. 14.

The inaugural 2006 Initium ceremony.
Classes in the 2007-08 academic year begin Monday, Aug. 20, but back-to-school activities begin Sunday, Aug. 12, when freshmen begin moving into residence halls and Lipscomb staff and faculty don U-Haul T-shirts to help them carry the load. Upper classmen will start toting stuff in on Saturday, Aug. 18.

QuestWeek will brings a full week of fun, including Quest Olympics on Tuesday, Aug. 14, at 7:30 p.m., when first year students will participate in 12 events, including the Dizzy Bat Game, the Egg-Spoon Relay, the Three-legged race and more. Lots of music and lots of fun as first year students participate in field day-style games.

On Thursday, Aug. 16 several hundred Lipscomb freshmen and transfers will begin their college careers by volunteering at 20 charities around town, hauling junk, cleaning equipment, sorting donations and more during the QuestWeek service day.

Saturday, Aug. 18, brings Dew Fest, with a truckload of Mountain Dew brought in for the freshmen and an exciting activity to get everyone active on the last free weekend before classes start.

And finally, Sunday, Aug. 19, brings the second-annual Initium, an inspirational devotional and welcoming ceremony named after the Latin word for initiation, at Allen Bell Tower.

Minister Don McLaughlin will speak to the freshmen and transfer students in Allen Arena for a community worship. Then the brand new students will proceed along an illuminated walkway to Allen Bell Tower, where they will pick up candles and hear a welcoming message from President Randy Lowry. Upperclassmen will light the candles of the new students, and as a symbol of the fresh start every student has as they start their college careers, the new students will receive a small slate tile – or a blank slate – as a memento.