Turning 21 Dinner: Another Elon Tradition

Elon University is known for its traditions.

The first-year class gets an acorn at Convocation, held the Saturday following move-in day. The graduating class receives baby oak saplings at commencement. President Leo Lambert invites the entire student body to his home for a holiday party every December. And every Tuesday morning faculty, staff and students get together for a free breakfast we call College Coffee. Elon is full of traditions. But there’s one tradition that often flies under the radar, and I must say, it’s one of my favorites: when you turn 21, Elon throws you a birthday party.

The Turning 21 Celebration is a special event hosted several times throughout the year. Students who have recently turned 21 are invited to attend a “fancy” dinner along with a guest, typically a staff or faculty mentor who has played a special role in the student’s Elon experience. For me, the question of who to invite was a no-brainer. I invited the very first professor I ever had in the School of Communications—Dr. Gaither. Dr. Gaither is a phenomenal professor whom students know very well and speak very highly of. I knew I would be honored to have him as my guest for the evening.

I heard from older students that Dr. Gaither goes all out for the Turning 21 dinners—and they were right! When I arrived to meet Dr. Gaither, he handed me a bouquet of flowers. We enjoyed a delicious meal alongside other pairs of students and their guests, listened to an excellent keynote speaker and at the end of the evening Dr. Gaither gave me a handwritten note thanking me for inviting him. Nicest of all, at the end of the note he had written that I was a shining star!

I don’t know what other university fosters professor-student relationships like this. The best thing is, Dr. Gaither isn’t the only professor I have a strong professional relationship with. There are several other professors in the School of Communications that I regularly meet with for coffee or lunch. Another favorite professor, Dr. Copeland, has shared a meal with me and a few other students at least eight or nine times over the years. He’s taken us to lunch so many times; we recently all pulled together to take him out to a nice Italian dinner.

Here at Elon, professors know your name, they care, and sometimes, they even come to your birthday party.

-Katy Steele ’14