Hesston College students enrolled in fall semester classes will converge on campus during Opening Weekend August 21-23.

Resident assistants for the dorms arrive Thursday, August 13, for a weekend orientation and retreat. Then volleyball and men’s and women’s soccer players, along with aviation students and members of the Bel Canto Singers, come to campus Monday, August 17. Registration for new and returning off-campus students begins Thursday afternoon, August 20.

New and returning on-campus students will register for classes Friday, August 21, and move into their dorm rooms. New on-campus students will attend orientation sessions Saturday, August 22.

Opening Weekend activities include a 7:30 p.m. convocation Friday, August 21, at Hesston Mennonite Church. Sophomore Ana Loucks of Hesston and faculty and staff members Todd Lehman and Doug and Rita Peters will offer a presentation about the mission and personality of Hesston College. Bel Canto Singers, under the direction of faculty member Bradley Kauffman, will share selections.

The Parent Council will host a Parents’ Breakfast at 9 a.m. Saturday morning. The day’s festivities include a volleyball alumni game at 4 p.m., a women’s soccer intrasquad game at 6:30 p.m., and a men’s soccer intrasquad game at 7:45 p.m.

Sunday’s schedule features a 9 a.m. morning worship service in the sanctuary of Hesston Mennonite Church. President Howard Keim will present the meditation on the college’s 2009 centennial theme verse, “The truth shall make you free,” based on John 8:32, which is also the college motto. International student advisor Dave Osborne will share words of anticipation for the coming year and Bel Canto Singers will sing.

Other Sunday activities include a campus picnic from 6-6:45 p.m., and the annual Mod Olympics at 7 p.m.

Classes begin Monday morning, August 24.

The public is invited to attend opening convocation, opening worship, the volleyball alumni game, and the men’s and women’s soccer intrasquad scrimmages.

For more information about registering for classes, or about Opening Weekend, call the Hesston College Admissions Office at 800-995-2757.