Meet The Cairn: Maryville College’s new student life hub
By Lily Shelton | Sept. 15, 2026
The Cairn, the official website for student involvement and campus life, launched earlier this year during New Student Orientation. It aims to consolidate all campus events into one place and make it easier for students to be involved. This website was developed by Doniqua Chen (‘15), director of student involvement, in collaboration with Dr. Ben Stubbs, vice president and dean of students, Catherine Hill, director of student transitions and family programs, and the Student Government Association during the 2026 spring semester.
The name of the website itself calls back to the college’s Appalachian and Scottish heritage. A cairn is a trail marker of stacked stones, used to guide travelers and communicate what may lie ahead.
“The Cairn is a guide for the Maryville journey,” Chen said. “They can go to one place and see Maryville.”
Many students are already somewhat familiar with The Cairn because of the MC Event Passes used during Convocation and other welcome week events, but tracking attendance is only a small part of this website. Students looking for events on campus can find almost everything here, ranging from club meetings and theater shows to weekly chapel and more — there’s something for everyone, and the website makes it easier than before for people to find these communities on campus.
Screenshot of The Cairn mobile interface, displaying just a few of the features available to students. Photo courtesy of Lily Shelton
“Rather than expecting students to know which office, website, email or platform holds the information they need, The Cairn puts the experience of campus life in one place,” Chen said. “The goal is ambitious: The Cairn should become essential to being a Maryville College student.”
The website doesn’t just benefit the average student — student leaders can now manage membership, events and budgets more efficiently as well. Instead of relying on a combination of emails, physical papers and documents across Google and Microsoft accounts, clubs can now manage all of these processes together from The Cairn.
“[This] matters because student leaders should spend their time leading, not looking for a form,” Chen said. “They should be building organizations, creating traditions, welcoming new members, and giving students experiences they will carry with them long after graduation.”
While the website is a continuous work in progress, The Cairn has seamlessly integrated into Maryville campus life thus far. Eventually, The Cairn will be more than just an optional or secondary resource for students — it will be the first place students look to find information on the communities and events happening around them. The Maryville College campus is a bright, bustling place with events planned almost every day, and no student should feel lost or out of place, especially with a starting point as strong as The Cairn.
As Chen said, “Maryville College is a place defined by connection between people, ideas, traditions and communities. The Cairn gives those connections a home.”
Those involved with The Cairn want to emphasize its supporting role with the motto: “Every student has a path at Maryville. The Cairn helps them find it.”
The Cairn is only the beginning of something new on Maryville’s campus, helping connect our students and the broader community better than ever before. For now, students should keep an eye on the website, stay in touch with current events and look out for new updates.