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Pre-Semester Programs

Roanoke College offers several pre-semester programs that encourage new students to get involved prior to Welcome Week. Programs ranging from service to outdoor adventure activities can help make the transition smooth and successful for any incoming students.

  • BonD

    A group of students in identical purple t-shirts stand on the stairs in front of a brick wall that bears the Roanoke College seal, in blue and yellow on a white background.

    Building on Diversity is a pre-orientation program that assists incoming students with their transition to college. The program is open to any newly enrolled students who want to learn and explore diversity and multiculturalism. With the BonD Program, the incoming students are paired with a mentor that will guide their mentee through the transition process and navigate them to a successful college life experience.

  • International Orientation

    A group of young women pose for a photo in Market Square in downtown Roaonke. Brick buildings are in the background.

    The pre-orientation program for international students is held three days prior to the opening of school for all new students. International students arrive one day prior to the beginning of orientation.

  • Journey

    A group of students gather around the back of an old red caboose, with some standing on the ground and others on the caboose platform. They smile and mug for the camera.

    Journey is a pre-orientation program designed to assimilate incoming freshmen resident students to college while introducing the students to the abundant outdoor recreational opportunities in the Roanoke Valley and surrounding areas. Participants meet other freshmen and interact with upperclass mentors who work in Outdoor Adventures.

  • PLUNGE

    A male student and two female students, all wearing aprons, stand around a table where they are making a bunch of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for residents of a community shelter.

    PLUNGE is a weeklong pre-orientation experience that opens the doors of community service to incoming first-year Roanoke College students. PLUNGE participants serve the needs of the poor in urban Washington, D.C. and in rural Southwest Virginia by helping out in homeless shelters, soup kitchens, and with home repair.