Student Experience

Helpful Greeters, Perfect Weather Welcome Students as Moving-In Begins at UVA

By Jane Kelly, jak4g@virginia.edu

August 18, 2022

A woman moves a blue moving cart down a short flight of stairs

The annual ritual begins: Students began moving in early Thursday morning. (Photos by Sanjay Suchak, University Communications)

Crystal clear blue skies and unseasonably mild weather greeted the members of the Class of 2026 who arrived at the University of Virginia on Thursday, kicking off three days of move-in excitement.

At the Shannon House first-year dormitory, cars loaded down with mini refrigerators, microwaves and countless stuffed blue Ikea bags pulled into a drive to park and unload as dozens of enthusiastic Greeters – upperclass student volunteers who help the move-in process – happily schlepped belongings into dorm rooms.

At nearby Tuttle-Dunnington House, Chris Rogers was hefting boxes into his fourth-floor room after a two-day drive down from Massachusetts with his parents.

“I visited UVA last summer and it just felt special,” Rogers said. He said that a particular tour on that visit made the choice to come to UVA very easy. “I emailed the classics chair, Ivana Petrovic, and she offered to show me around, which is great.”

A college-age man stands next to his mother

Chris Rogers and his mother, Sarah, pose outside Tuttle-Dunnington House after making a two-day drive from Massachusetts.

A clutch of Greeters excitedly helped Rogers with all his stuff. For one, Kayla Mohammed, it was a bit of a homecoming. The third-year student moved in Tuttle-Dunnington House in August 2020.

She is passionate about helping new students move in. “I’m a Greeter because I’m a part of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. and we do a first-year move-in program,” she said. “A big reason why I want to be a Greeter is because the first interaction at UVA is incredibly important, because it really does set the tone for your time here. So having a positive interaction, an influence on the first-year students, is incredibly important to me.”

Things were also hopping along McCormick Road, where UVA’s “old dorms” are located.

Eliza Guadalupe and Elyssia Brown and their families were loading area rugs, foot lockers and suitcases into a room on the first floor of Bonnycastle House.

Five students wearing matching gray Greeter shirts pose in front of Tuttle-Dunnington dormitory.

Greeters Alison Alston, Kennedy Carter, Kayla Gillum, Morgan Dodson and Kayla Mohammed – all members of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. – helped dozens of students move in Thursday.

The new roommates found each other on Instagram and instantly struck up a friendship. “I saw she had UVA in her bio, and I was just like ‘YOLO,’ and reached out to her, and we’ve been talking ever since,” a happy Brown said.

“Instagram is good for something!” Guadalupe chimed in.

The pair decided against making their room too matchy, decoration-wise. “We kind of just told each other our aesthetics, but then kind of did our own thing,” Brown said.

Guadalupe’s father, Jason, said he has conflicting emotions about leaving his daughter at UVA. “Sadness, extreme excitement. It’s weird,” he said. Eliza is his oldest child, so the college experience is completely new to the Guadalupe family.

Brown’s mother, Kathy, didn’t hesitate when asked how she felt about Elyssia leaving home. “Fantastic!” she said, laughing, both fists raised in victory.

Two new roommates pose together in their dorm

Eliza Guadalupe and Elyssia Brown are rooming together in Bonnycastle House after connecting on Instagram.

Father Eric’s emotions were a little more subdued. “A little nervous, but excited for her,” he said with a look of pride. “I’m looking forward to the Virginia experience, the UVA experience.”

Associate Dean of Students Andy Petters was out and about observing the move-in activity early Thursday. Asked how things were going, he enthusiastically said, “Great!”

“Besides the outstanding weather that we have for move-in, we have what I think to be the best group of resident staff to welcome our students,” he said. “We have an array of Greeters positioned across Grounds, and bins for our buildings with elevators. Lots of families and students are coming excited for what the year holds for them.”

UVA President Jim Ryan addressed parents of new students Thursday afternoon in the auditorium in Old Cabell Hall. (Photo by Erin Edgerton, University Communications)

With any large move come cardboard boxes. Each year, parents and students leave behind about 26 tons of them. To keep them out of landfills, UVA Recycling has posted stations near most of the residence hall dumpsters on Grounds to collect cardboard and other recyclables like bottles, metal cans and plastic wrap.

Volunteers help maintain the recycling stations by breaking down cardboard and removing the recyclables when containers fill.

Alternatively, UVA Recycling leaders suggest parents consider flattening moving boxes and taking them home – for reuse when it’s time for students to move out next spring.