Note-writing event brings together community for the holidays

For River Lynch, an EMU sophomore majoring in digital media and political science, Friday’s note-writing event brought him full circle.

Lynch remembers receiving his own handwritten card during the holidays back when he was a high school senior in King William, Virginia, a dot on the map about 30 miles east of Richmond. And he remembers feeling appreciative that a student at EMU, recent biology and mathematics grad Marciella Shallomita ’25, wrote to him.

“I was a student chaplain last semester and I got to meet her, and it was nice to say to her, ‘You’re one of the reasons I came here,’” shared Lynch, adding that another big draw pulling him to EMU was receiving the four-year, full-tuition Yoder/Webb Scholarship. “I thought it was nice that someone had taken the time to write me something and tell me how much they enjoyed EMU.”

As a way of paying it forward, Lynch stopped by the main lobby of University Commons in between classes on Friday to participate in the 15th annual note-writing event sponsored by the admissions office. He, along with more than 90 students, faculty, staff, alumni, and friends of EMU, hand-wrote hundreds of cards (over 700 cards and counting, as tallied on Monday morning) that will be mailed to admitted students all across the country.

Lynch said he wrote to students who, like him, were interested in studying political science and digital media. “The majority of my cards were about how good the professors are in the VACA (Visual And Communication Arts) department and how I’ve never once regretted choosing digital media as my major,” he said. “I wanted to reach out to incoming students and tell them, ‘Hey, if you need any help or if you ever want to talk about your major or about any classes, come find me.’ I think I’m the only River on campus, so it shouldn’t be hard.”

The annual note-writing event provides an opportunity for members of the campus community to form connections with admitted students and tell them about what makes EMU special. Students have said that receiving these cards makes an enormous impact on their college choice. 

Fortunata Chipeta, a junior public health major, didn’t realize this impact until a current first-year student she wrote a card to last year told her it helped convince him to attend EMU. “This event is like me giving them a nudge toward the EMU experience,” she said. “We want them to experience the welcoming and fun adventure here.”

Another student participating in the event, Ava Walker, a sophomore psychology major from Richmond, wrote cards to prospective psychology students. “I’ve been telling them about how the school makes me feel welcome and has given me so much since I’ve been here,” said Walker, who is a Royal Ambassador, tour guide, and member of the lacrosse team. 

Luke Litwiller, director of undergraduate admissions, said the goal of the event is to ensure every admitted student receives a handwritten, personalized card from a member of the EMU community and “experiences a little bit of the relational care that we offer here.”

“This is also a community-building event and gets people all across campus involved in enrollment efforts,” he said.

Friday’s blanket of snow caused a slight hitch in plans, pushing the start of the event from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., but the dedicated volunteers pressed on, powering through wrist cramps as they wrote.

“Given how many admitted students we had this year, we needed a pretty solid push,” said organizer Liz Heilbronner, assistant director of transfer admissions and event planner. “Even if someone only wrote one note card, it still made a big difference.”