Move-In Week: Students arrived from near and far to live on campus
Move-In Week always requires lots of planning and volunteers to keep students moving in to UA's residence halls on schedule.
Rebecca Valvoda is here for the music. Taveon Brown is pre-med. Luke Campbell is majoring in computer networking.
Cindy Valvoda helped daughter Rebecca move into Bulger Hall. She is one of the 4,500 members of the Class of 2016, which includes students from 32 states, including Ohio, and 10 countries.
The three first-year students are among the 3,265 students living on campus this year. During Move-In Week, with the help of Residence Life and Housing staff and volunteers from fraternities and other student organizations — not to mention dozens of shopping carts — possessions were moved quickly from family cars and into rooms in UA's 13 residence halls.
The newest is South Residence Hall. Its completion in time for the start of fall semester means there is no longer a waiting list to live on campus. Located at 353 Grant St., the 139,000-square-foot structure will be home to 530 freshmen and upperclassmen. It features 271 shared-single and double-occupancy rooms with in-suite bathrooms, along with study and lounge areas on each of its six floors.
The new hall, just like Spicer Residence Hall, which opened in 2010 near InfoCision Stadium-Summa Field, has many "green" features, including LED lighting in public spaces, window sensors to control energy consumption and rainwater harvesting to be used for outside irrigation.
Good memories of important day
"I wanted to tell you how impressed I was moving my daughter in yesterday. The whole process was flawless and the kids helping out were awesome. As a parent, I did everything I could to prepare for a crazy day filled with emotional ups and downs trying to drop my first child off at college. When we pulled in, I was fighting tears at the thought of eventually saying goodbye to her, and there were these smiling, welcoming adorable college kids willing to do anything to help all of us out!
"As we were standing in line for the elevator with our buggies, I noticed all these parents in front of us with the same blank look on their faces and all these wonderful kids helping us get through the day more than they will ever know.
"Whoever set this process up is to be commended on what a great job they did helping us get through one of the most rewarding yet emotional days of our lives as parents.
"I’m so glad my daughter decided on attending Akron! Thank you again for everything, and all the help you have given us this past year."
— A UA mom
"I've been to a lot of colleges over the years with my own kids and I have never seen a move-in so well organized," says Cindy Kaufman, of Cleveland, who was on hand to help a family friend move his granddaughter into Bulger Hall. "Everyone is so welcoming. There are lots of smiling faces."
Cousins Taveon Brown, pre-med, and Diamond Walker, nursing, are from Dayton.
"I just got a hug from one of the girls who is helping," says Rebecca Valvoda, a freshman from Madison, Ohio, who is majoring in vocal performance. "I chose UA because of the music program. I'm really looking forward to living on campus."
"It’s all she talked about her senior year," adds her mother, Cindy Valvoda. "This has been really enjoyable today. Everyone has been so nice, and I haven't had to carry a thing!"
Coming to UA has been on Taveon Brown's radar, too. His cousin, Diamond Walker, is a sophomore majoring in nursing who just moved into South Hall. Both are from Dayton.
"I’ve been looking at The University of Akron for quite awhile. I liked what I saw here," says Brown, who will be living in Spanton Residence Hall.
Marlene and Paul Campbell, with son Luke, are UA alumni.
Luke Campbell, of Copley, is a second-generation UA student. His mom, Marlene, earned a degree in nursing in 1986 and his dad, Paul, earned a degree in marketing in 1990.
"I think it's going to be great living on campus," says Campbell, who will be a resident in Bulger Hall.
"We're excited for him," says his mom. "We didn't have the chance to live on campus when we were going to school here. We think it will be great for him to be engaged in the campus experience. We're also looking forward to getting him out of the house," she added with a teasing smile.