Welcome Class of 2027!

Written by Emma Gray, LCM Student Leader

Dear incoming freshmen,

Thinking back to when I was in your shoes last fall, I remember the flood of emotions that came with moving into a new dorm, starting new classes, and experiencing Welcome Week for the first time. There was nervousness, excitement, and just overall fatigue that came from uprooting what felt like a comfortable environment at home over the summer.

When I first arrived at the University of Minnesota, I knew I wanted to start looking for a church community to join. My church and youth group from home were pretty small and tight-knit, so I was a bit nervous about finding a group like that in the middle of such a huge campus.

After seeing a poster in Coffman Student Union, I came to one of LCM’s first student worship nights of the semester (pause). I immediately felt like it was where I was meant to end up just after my first night there. The people and student leaders were so welcoming, accepting, and excited to meet me. It was also very clear to me that this church aligned with my values, which was a refreshing aspect to find in a faith community.

Shortly after attending student worship every week, I was invited to join Freshmen Bible Study. This intrigued me because I was interested in getting to know more people, especially other freshmen, more personally at church. After getting to know the other freshmen in the Bible study, I felt like I could open up more and be myself, which was a new feeling for me since I was still trying to find my place at the U.

This year, I will be leading the Freshmen Bible Study, and genuinely cannot wait! I found such a loving and comforting home at LCM last year and am so excited to meet new faces who can hopefully find the same things I did here. My hope for all of you is that you are able to find spaces and people that make you feel loved and worthy of who you are, not who you feel you could or should be. Whether that is at LCM or another space on campus, I encourage you to seek that out and pay attention to how different environments affirm you, and make you feel!

If you have any questions at all, about literally anything, LCM-related or not, please do not hesitate to reach out to me! I would love to hear from you and am happy to help with anything – I know the first couple weeks of freshman year are a lot. You will find your people, even if it feels hard at first. Remember that you are awesome and you are here for a reason!

-Emma
gray0694@umn.edu