Excitement in the air as TU welcomes its newest Tigers

By Kyle Hobstetter on August 26, 2021

Even as the temperature reached the upper 90s, the heat couldn’t dampen the spirits of the Towson University community as they welcomed the newest Tigers to campus.

On Wednesday and Thursday, Towson University greeted its new student residents as part of new student move-in. Through the weekend, TU will welcome more than 6,000 students who will live on campus. Many of them are part of the more than 2,600 first-year students who make up the most diverse freshman class on record for TU.

One of the most excited to see the new students was President Kim Schatzel, who traveled around campus sharing hellos, handshakes and selfies with the newest members of the TU community and their families.

President Schatzel was stopped a few times and was not only complimented on her Instagram game, but also just how friendly the staff and returning students were during the hot day.

“They say that it feels like home,” Schatzel says. “TU is a place where students can discover themselves, stretch themselves, meet people with different values, experiences and beliefs so they can start to learn more about what they want to do, and make choices about what they want to do for the rest of their lives.”

That friendliness started at the beginning of the move-in process, with all students having to head to South Campus Pavilion for check in. Students received their room keys, confirmed their COVID-19 vaccination compliance and picked up their new Towson University OneCards.

On Wednesday morning it was also where they ran into Nate Mart, who is the Residence Life Coordinator for the Richmond and Newell residence halls. Mart was at South Campus Pavilion to help check students in, provide information about programs students can get involved with, and just give a friendly hello to TU’s newest residents.

“The students that live on this campus are what make this campus great,” Mart says. “We’re so happy to have them back, we’re excited to welcome them, to get them involved and excited to get them to be part of our community.”

Students were allowed to bring two people from home to assist with move-in, and the TU community was there to make sure everything ran smoothly. This includes hundreds of students as part of the “Move-In Crew,” who came back early to help with move-in. 

Freshman Lindsey McCracken moved into Prettyman Hall on Wednesday morning, and was worried that she might have brought too many belongings. But thanks to the Move-In Crew, it only took two trips to get all of it to her new room.

“I have had a brother and sister attend other schools, and this was so much smoother than any move-in my family has been a part of,” McCracken says. “From all the help we’ve had from the volunteers, to borrowing a screwdriver…it’s just been seamless.”

Matt Lenno, who is Towson University’s assistant vice president of student affairs, usually spends his move-in day on the administration side. On Wednesday morning, after 25 years of working college move-ins, he got to experience it as a parent.

Lenno’s son Troy was moving into Scarborough Hall, so the older Lenno had to hang up the assistant vice president hat, and put on the “Towson Dad” shirt for this year.

“I know how this process works, but watching it from the parent’s side, it makes me proud to be part of this staff,” Lenno says. “We had a 10 a.m. check-in, and it’s only 10:40 a.m. and we’re already unpacked. I’m excited for Troy, I’m proud of him and it’s a big day for the family.”

Along with students helping with move-in crew, there also were resident assistants at each residence hall who were excited to meet the students who will live on their floor.

Gerard Laraque is a senior RA at the Residence Tower. And while welcoming new students to the building, he works as a handyman, does customer service and is even somewhat of an assistant for the families.

Those are the exact reasons that Laraque signed up to be an RA.

“My RA helped me with my transition, whether that was being homesick or not knowing where things are on campus,” Laraque says. “That was my motivation for me to be an RA and help out and give back to our up-and-coming freshmen. I want to help other students like my RA helped me.”

Some freshmen were meeting their roommate in person for the first time. Molly Ostrowski grew up around Philadelphia, while her new roommate in Barton House, Kayli Camilleri, grew up in Long Island, New York.

They met through the Towson University Class of 2025 Facebook group, and hit it off because both are elementary education majors and dancers.

And there were some roommates who have known each other since kindergarten, like Kayla Jackson and Mekhya Jones. The two grew up together in St. Charles, Md. and have talked every day over the summer about how they are going to get their room ready.

“It’s exciting and fun to have someone to do this with, especially someone I’ve known forever who is ready to go on this journey with me,” Jones says.

“This feels normal because we talk every day, and it’s exciting to go on this new journey of living on my own — besides having my 'little sister,'” Jackson said before getting a side eye from Jones who wanted to remind her new roommate that she was older. 

With new students exploring campus, returning students were excited to see life come back to campus. SGA President Jordan Deveaux was on campus for a meeting, and while standing outside the University Union she couldn’t help but wave to students and their families as they explored campus.

The day also brought back memories of when she arrived to campus four years ago. 

“It feels like it was just yesterday,” Deveaux laughs. “I know it sounds really cheesy and cliché, but I remember moving into Glen Tower D in the fall of 2018 and here we are four years later and it’s really felt like a whirlwind. And I’m just excited for our new students, because there is nothing like your first year on campus and I’m excited for them to experience it for themselves.”

And Towson University has many activities planned for the first week of school. Starting on Friday, students will have plenty of events to welcome them to campus as part of Welcome to TU.

READ MORE: Learn about what to expect on the first week of classes and Welcome To TU

Vice President of Student Affairs Vernon Hurte, who could be seen on campus giving out handshakes and hugs to both new and returning students, says that move-in truly proves that Towson University is back.

"The only reason we’re here is our students," Hurte says. "We’re really excited for the year ahead and we have a lot of fresh things to offer in terms of new programming, the renovated University Union and just a lot of things to be excited about. It makes me happy to see our students and their families happy to be back home at TU."