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Roommates Skylar Silk ’28 and Chloe Deangelis ’28 didn’t know each other before moving in together at ������Ƶ on Friday, Aug. 23, but they greeted each other as if they were lifelong friends.

“This is the first time Skylar met her roommate and they burst into cheer so that’s a good sign,” said Erica Silk P’28, Skylar’s mother. “I’m excited for Sky to make friends, meet people, live on her own and enjoy life as you should in college. We’re from Ohio and once we heard about ������Ƶ, we fell in love.”

Silk and Deangelis were two of the more than 1,600 members of the Class of 2028 and other new students who arrived at ������Ƶ on Friday for Move-In Day, a collaborative effort that helps new students get settled in and begin their academic journeys at ������Ƶ. Campus was buzzing with excitement as new students arrived to Schar Center to pick up their Move-In Day materials before heading to their residence halls. Volunteers greeted families with chants and cheers at the Schar Center entrance where students checked in and received information on how to get to their housing assignments and other important items — room keys, parking passes, Phoenix cards, schedules and a variety of educational materials.

The Fire of the Carolinas marching band amplified the spirited atmosphere, parading through campus, including through Belk Library, playing ������Ƶ’s fight song and other lively tunes. To keep the energy up, WSOE, the university’s student-run radio station, was present in every residential neighborhood. Members of ������Ƶ Campus Safety & Police managed the flow of vehicles and pedestrians through the main areas, ensuring smooth traffic while refreshment stations scattered across campus kept Move-In Day helpers energized throughout the event.

A family tradition

Silk and Deangelis found each other randomly on Instagram and are now beginning their journey intentionally together at ������Ƶ. Both students have family members who have attended ������Ƶ, and for Skylar, it’s a family tradition.

“������Ƶ is really deep in my family,” said Skylar. “I had four cousins come here and then I have three older brothers who came here. It’s so beautiful here. As soon as I came and toured, I knew.”

Christine Bradsher’s ’28 father and sister both attended ������Ƶ and, after visiting over the years, it began to feel like home. Now, Bradsher gets a brand-new home in the East Neighborhood Commons, the university’s newest building which opened for the first time on Move-In Day. The three-story, 45,000-square-foot building has 90 residential rooms primarily for first-year students as well as faculty/staff apartments and office space. The commons also includes a “forum,” a large multipurpose room for class, meetings and social events.

“It’s so nice. My friend plays soccer here and I was in East Neighborhood yesterday and it’s so beautiful,” said Bradsher, a Change Maker Scholar from Lorton, Virginia. “I’m excited to be in a new place and meet new people. I’m also excited to get started with my chemistry major and focus on something that I’m really interested in.”

As a proud alumna, Julie Gillespie ’94 P’24 P’28 moved her second child into ������Ƶ on Friday. “It’s so fun to come back and look and say ‘I lived there, I went to a party here and I went to class here.’ It’s fun. We really enjoy it,” she said while helping to unpack her son’s room.

‘Best move-in’

While Gillespie doesn’t remember much from her first-year Move-In Day at Brannock Hall more than 30 years ago, she’s been impressed with the current Move-In Day for both of her children. Other students and parents shared their appreciation for ������Ƶ’s smooth Move-In Day as well.

“Best move-in process ever,” said Erica Silk. “Number one move-in process.”

Across campus, hundreds of students, faculty and staff, including members of ������Ƶ’s football, men’s and women’s soccer, volleyball, cheer and dance teams helped unload vehicles and carry dorm-room essentials inside. Members of ������Ƶ’s Facilities Management team put utility carts and trailers to use transporting belongings from lines of vehicles to the front doors of residence halls.

“Move-In is one of my favorite times, I like seeing people getting their stuff in being all happy and excited and getting to make those connections now,” said Michaela Shapiro ’27, an international and global studies major and resident assistant helping with Move-In Day on Friday.

Choosing ������Ƶ

Cooler summer weather and sunshine welcomed the 1,620 first-year and 74 transfer students to ������Ƶ’s campus. The Class of 2028 is ������Ƶ’s most diverse class in university history – 23% identify as ALANAM (African American, Latino/Hispanic, Asian Pacific Islander, Native American, Alaska Native and multiracial). This class is coming to ������Ƶ from 43 states and 16 different countries including Mexico, Switzerland, France, China and Germany. Twelve percent identify as first-generation college students and the class overall has an average core GPA of 4.08.

“T��� Honors Program was really appealing and I also enjoy the small class sizes which means you get to make connections with faculty,” said Neil Parmer ’28, from Cary, North Carolina, who is looking to major in public health studies and business analytics and is one of just 63 Class of 2028 students in ������Ƶ’s prestigious Honors Program.

“T���re were a lot of schools, and it was hard to decide what school had what programs for you and what worked best for you and I think ������Ƶ had a combination of what I was looking for,” Parmer said.

Happy to be home

While roommates like Silk and Deangelis made a connection quickly, current ������Ƶ students say it’s not a race.

“Give yourself grace,” said Danielle Giraldo ’25, a strategic communications major who offered her advice to the Class of 2028. “It’s ok to be nervous, homesick, tired, emotional, etc. You’re entering a new phase of life! It’s going to be hard, and you’re going to make mistakes, but you’re going to learn and grow so much!”

And Deangelis admits, there’s still some nerves but she’s excited for what’s to come.

“It’s weird, because meeting my roommate was all over the phone,” said Deangelis, who is from Westport, Connecticut and plans to study elementary education. “But you have to have a good mindset going into it. I’m happy to be here.”

Move-In Day is the start of New Student Orientation which includes a variety of activities to help the Class of 2028 get acquainted with ������Ƶ. On Saturday, Aug. 24, the new students will gather for New Student Convocation where President Connie Ledoux Book will address the class for the first time, and they will receive their acorn – an ������Ƶ tradition symbolizing the start of their journey at the university.