The newest Royals are here!

There’s just something in the air on campus during Welcome Week. As new students move into Bethel each fall, they’re surrounded by dancing, decked-out upperclass students who are eager to haul their stuff to their rooms, cheer them on, and help them start fall semester on the right foot. It’s a multi-day, student-led event decades in the making, and it’s a signature experience for new Royals.

Welcome Week includes early move-in for PSEO and transfer students, student employees, students in BUILD, and athletes. Then the main move-in event kicks into gear, with a long line of cars filing onto campus, stopping for a warm welcome from President Ross and Annie Allen before being directed through an efficient move-in assembly line. Once they’re settled, students get a few days to enjoy campus and meet others before returning students arrive and classes begin. 

There’s a movie screening on the lawn. There’s also a service project where 550 backpacks filled with donated school supplies will be distributed to families in need at two local elementary schools. Launched last year, it’s done in partnership with Roseville-based Kids In Need Foundation. There’s also “The Show,” the traditional student talent show-esque event that mixes humor and music with things students will need to know while they’re on campus. And things end on a more reflective note, when campus quiets down and everyone packs into Benson Great Hall for the Koinonia community worship service.

Hailey Gregg ’25 is majoring in elementary education and teaching English as a second language. She’s in her third year serving on the Welcome Week team, and has taken on a leadership role as one of three Welcome Week coordinators. Since she was selected for the position in November 2023, she and her team have hired 80 student volunteers to help with planning and executing every detail of the move-in experience. 

“Welcome Week is the heart of our mission here at Bethel: to build a place where students are seen, known, and pushed towards something greater than themselves. I'd say ‘yes’ to this a thousand times, so that these students—both current and incoming—are able to experience a little bit more of Jesus' unending love for them,” Gregg says. “We work 16-hour days and attend dance practice for four hours every night and throw events and laugh lots. It's a whole lot of bonding in such a concentrated period, which brings us close quickly. To me, there is nothing quite as sweet as the joyful relationships that are formed over a mutual love for welcoming others.”

So how does this class shape up? There are a total of 489 new Royals, including 54 transfer students. There are 33 students in BUILD, 646 total Post Secondary Enrollment Options (PSEO) students, and 69 former PSEO-turned-traditional students. They join the rest of the undergraduate student body, totalling 2,332 in all.

The most popular majors for incoming students are:

• Nursing (58)
• Biology (31)
• Elementary Education (K-6) (24)
• Business: Marketing (23)
• Business: Finance (20)

Funniest Hometown Name: Walla Walla, Washington
Most Mispronounced Hometown: Lake Nebagamon, Wisconsin
Coldest Hometown: Ely, Minnesota, where the coldest recorded temperature was -50℉
Hottest Hometown: Phoenix, Arizona, which had the hottest recorded temperature of 122℉
Longest Distance Traveled: 3,153 miles, or a 53-hour drive (Eagle River, Alaska)
Shortest Distance Traveled: 2.3 miles, or 4 minutes (Arden Hills, Minnesota)
Most Common Male Name: Andrew (8)
Most Common Female Name: Madeline/Madelyn/Madelynne (8)
Most Common Last Names: Nelson (8), Johnson (6), Anderson (5), and Vang (4)

As the school year begins, Gregg shares her encouragement for the new Royals on campus:

“This 80-person Welcome Week team has been praying over you every single day for nearly a whole year. You are so loved,” she says. “My encouragement is to have an abundance of grace for yourself. It's probably going to be hard. It's a new place, with lots of new things. You'll meet so many new friends. It's not going to be perfect, and you're going to make a few mistakes. But there are so many people who care about you (really and truly). Keep going. Don't be afraid to ask for help when you need it, and be gentle on yourself…We've got your back, and the Lord does, too.” 

Belong and become at Bethel

Here, the warm welcome doesn’t end after you’re moved in. Within Bethel’s unique, Christ-guided community, you’ll be supported and encouraged through every step of your academic journey.

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