As summer comes to a close in the Town of Elon, migratory freshmen burst into town with new rooms and new questions. Town of Elon Mayor Emily Sharpe witnessed the seasonal turning of the student population since 2021. She said she has hopes for the new Elon students to plant roots here. 

Many students go four years without really interacting with the town, Sharpe said. Her daughter romps restlessly around a chair in the Town Hall Annex on North Williamson Avenue. The town is quiet. Downtown is washed with rain, empty before the student rush. 

“I think it is easy to come here and think, ‘Oh, it’s just little Elon.’ But if you don’t care about this you won’t make this your home. You won’t see all of the opportunity that is here,” Sharpe said. 

As the class of 2029 rolls in, Sharpe said students could improve their time at Elon by getting involved beyond campus.

She also said she wants students to know she wants to get more involved with helping their organizations. Sharpe mentioned that Elon students work on the town’s Sustainability Committee and the Skatepark Steering Committee, as well as interning for the Town Council. Many Elon students are also babysitters, Sharpe said. This helps them gain ties to the local community that often slip by.

“Some students become like members of our family, and some who were babysitters and have graduated and have moved on are still very close,” Sharpe said.

Sharpe said learning to love a town starts with a commitment to live there. At first, she didn’t feel the urge to live at Elon, then she started to love it here. Now, Sharpe said she can’t imagine living anywhere else. 

Building relationships with the surrounding community is a way for new students to see Elon as a “second home,” Sharpe said.  

Being a small town mayor is not a full-time position in the town of Elon, but the position of being Emily Sharpe is a full-time job. Sharpe works as the wellness program director at a financial services organization. She balances her time between Charlotte, Elon and her daughter.

“A lot of times people will say, ‘How do you do it all?’ The answer is that I don’t.” Sharpe said. “I’m going to have to miss part of her school event this evening because I have a meeting.” 

Sharpe’s daughter ran around and to duck and whisper in her ear, urging her to mention Taylor Swift. As summer closes and families drop their students off at Elon for move-in, Sharpe will also have to drop off her child at school. 

Sharpe said she understands the shock of moving somewhere new. She is from Gallipolis, Ohio, and spent some of her professional life in Charlotte. Elon University’s class of 2028 data shows 21% of students are from North Carolina and an equal 21% of students from the more densely populated Massachusetts and New Jersey. Class of 2029 data is not available yet, as of Aug. 19.

“I think that when people move here from a city, it’s easy to see or maybe feel like there’s nothing to do,” Sharpe said, “but I always tell people that we are a small town with big city amenities.”

While she runs unopposed this election cycle, Sharpe said some students aren’t aware that Elon even has a mayor. Sharpe said she wants students and newcomers to know Elon is unlike a common outside perspective of a small town. It has a population of 11,282 and, according to Sharpe, a permanent group of educated high earners. Sharpe said Elon does not follow the misconception that a “small town is small minded.”

“It’s quiet. I understand why a young, single professional may find it a little too quiet. It’s a great place to raise a family, it’s safe,” Sharpe said. 

As students are moving in for the fall, the town will change. Sharpe mentioned that Elon becomes a “different town” for a couple of months each fall. The town of Elon will always be a college town, Sharpe said.

It was still raining outside the Town Hall Annex and her daughter now sat quietly in a chair with her head on the table. Sharpe looked out the window and said she is excited to see the students hugging on the sidewalks after not seeing each other all summer. 

“It’s like a day when the sun comes out after a day of rain. It just feels fresh. It’s exciting,” Sharpe said.