Updated as of Sept. 30, 2021 at 5:21 p.m. to include additional information about the event.
A pandemic. A community death. Racial reckonings. In her first three months at Elon University, Rev. Kirstin Boswell has faced many challenges. But Boswell said that the Elon community and the university’s commitment to student health and identity is “a wonderful environment to be doing this really difficult work.”
“What I have found that I really love about doing this work here at Elon is that I have an amazing set of colleagues,” Boswell said.
At the Truitt Center on Sept. 30, Boswell will have an official welcome service. This ceremony will be held at 6 p.m. with a reception in the McBride space.
Boswell comes to Elon from Brown university, where she served as associate dean. In her role as the fourth full-time university chaplain and dean of multifaith engagement, Boswell said she wants to meet as many students, faculty, staff and members of the Elon community as she can at her welcome.
“I'd love to meet as many people as possible and find out what their needs are, what the things are that they're struggling with,” Boswell said.
With the variety of challenges the Elon community and campus is facing, Boswell encourages students to come to the Truitt Center and talk about their challenges and mental health. According to Boswell, the Truitt Center is a welcoming place that is open to everyone in the community, regardless of religious identity.
Boswell hopes students, staff, and other community members who do not know much about the Truitt Center will come to the welcome service and become more familiar with the resources available to them.
“With some of the loss the campus has experienced recently, I have used any experience possible to talk about mental health,” Boswell said. “Finding opportunities and ways to have conversations with students is of the highest importance.”