Student Experience

‘The Rotunda is my front yard!’ Lawn’s newest residents move in

In a weird way, fourth-year student Boris Nakashyan said, the University of Virginia’s historic Lawn is a lot like Uzbekistan.

Nakashyan will be living in one of the Lawn residences this year. While the apartment complex he grew up in Uzbekistan was roomier than the dorms in the Academical Village, they have one thing in common.

Boris Nakashyan writing on a paper posted to the door of his room on the Lawn at UVA

Nakashyan checks off a list of Lawnies who have already begun moving in. As senior resident, it’s Nakashyan’s job to make sure all Lawn residents feel welcome. (Photo by Erin Edgerton, University Communications)

“I know it’s cheesy, but the Lawn does remind me a lot of Uzbekistan – that collectivist culture and people all sharing a space together,” Nakashyan said.

Nakashyan and his family moved to Harrisonburg when he was 11 years old. In school, he was surrounded by purple and gold, the colors of James Madison University. He first remembers hearing about UVA in his 7th seventh-grade science classroom.

“Obviously, my parents and I didn’t know UVA was a place that existed, because we had just immigrated,” Nakashyan explained.

But the orange-and-blue pennant in his teacher’s classroom stood out and stuck with Nakashyan. After touring Grounds, he knew it was the place for him.

At UVA, Nakashyan is an Echols Scholar studying commerce and biology. He has designed escape rooms. Now, he’s the senior Lawn resident. It took his parents a moment to realize what an accomplishment that was.

“When I told them I got a Lawn room, my mom was like, ‘We have a lawn in our backyard. What does it mean you’re living on the Lawn?’” Nakashyan said.

four people conversing in the doorways of their Lawn rooms at UVA

A group of Lawnies move into their dorms with the help of family and friends. (Photo by Erin Edgerton, University Communications)

After he explained the tradition, they were excited for him. Each year, hundreds of rising fourth-year students apply for one of the 54 rooms on the Lawn, which are awarded to those who have made significant contributions to University life. It’s one of the highest honors for a UVA student, even if lucky Lawnies must brave the elements and tourists just to trek to the communal bathrooms. They are a part of a community of high-achieving peers, living alongside the distinguished deans and faculty members who reside in adjoining pavilions.

As the head “Lawnie,” it will be Nakashyan’s job to make sure the Lawn residents feel welcome in their new home. And this year will be his last chance to live with members of his own class – after his first year, Nakashyan lived mostly with students in classes below him as a resident adviser.

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“It’s my last chance to experience that UVA magic,” he said.

On Friday, this year’s Lawn residents started moving in. Family and friends, bearing guitars, UVA cornhole sets and thrifted UVA-themed art, helped out.

When Meredith Collier learned she would be living on the Lawn for her fourth year, the youth and social innovation major was doing research in the education lab. She called her best friend and sent screenshots of her acceptance email to all of her group chats.

“They broke into the lab, which they were definitely not supposed to do, and gave me a big hug,” Collier recalled as she and her parents put boxes away.

Yukta Ramanan moving into her Lawn room at UVA

Yukta Ramanan, president of the Virginia Belles, moves a stepstool as her parents help her make her bed. Ramanan hopes to use her room to showcase the arts at UVA. (Photo by Erin Edgerton, University Communications)

If you pass by Yukta Ramanan’s Lawn room this fall, you may be lucky enough to hear a Virginia Belles audition. Ramanan is president of the Virginia Belles, the oldest all-female a capella group on Grounds, this year. She plans to hold the group’s auditions from her room on the East Lawn.

As a tour guide, Ramanan came to learn a lot about the Academical Village, arguably the most iconic part of the University and a UNESCO World Heritage site.

“It would have been remiss of me not to take the opportunity to at least try to live here,” Ramanan said. “But I didn’t imagine I would get it at all.

“The Rotunda is my front yard,” she added.

Jeremiah Clyburn moving into his Lawn room at UVA

Jeremiah Clyburn totes a suitcase into his room. The Manassas Park native is double majoring in neuroscience and drama. (Photo by Erin Edgerton, University Communications)

Jeremiah Clyburn, a double major in neuroscience and drama, was eating at the Got Dumplings food truck with the teaching assistant for his general chemistry class when he received an email about his Lawn room application.

“The first thing I read was, ‘Thank you for your application,’ so I was like, ‘Oh,’” Clyburn said, making a disappointed face. “But realizing I got it, that was just amazing. The waiting had been the worst part.”

Both sides of his studies will be on display in his Lawn room. As the choreographer for First Year Players, Clyburn plans to highlight the performing arts at UVA. Aware that college can be a challenging time, he also plans to share mental health resources with his fellow Hoos who may be struggling. Mostly, though, he’s excited for the year to come.

“It’s just this feeling of euphoria,” Clyburn said.