MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia University students have officially returned to Morgantown for the start of the fall semester.
Over 25,000 students from across the United States and dozens of countries from around the world made their way back into the Mountain State as part of Student Move-In Weekend that started on Thursday and wrapped up with Sunday Night Lights. Despite the hot and humid weather that came along with the moving of boxes and the numerous activities that were hosted on campus to kick off Welcome Week, students were out and about on Sunday, ready to continue to celebrate the start of a new semester.
“I mean it’s been pretty laid back,” said freshman from Ohio Tessa Sullivan. “I’ve been making friends, seeing where everything’s at, and trying to get a good routine going.”
Among the thousands of students that returned to Morgantown for the fall semester were the thousands of incoming freshmen that moved into dorm residences at the Downtown Campus along with the Sunnyside and Evansdale neighborhoods. Throughout the weekend, new students took part in freshman activities across campus, including the first Up All Night at the Mountainlair on Saturday and the traditional Sunday Night Lights that was hosted at Milan Puskar Stadium. While the move itself was considered stressful for some students, the excitement of being a part of the WVU community was still strong.
“It’s been good, I mean, it’s kind of stressful but fun, I like my dorm, and I’ve just been meeting new people and making friends,” said freshman from Maryland Claire Kimnach.
For the remaining 20,000 or so students who returned to campus to continue their education, the move-in gave them a chance to catch up with fellow Mountaineers while taking in the sights they have seen over the past few years. This did not include the hundreds of students that moved into apartments and rental homes in the weeks ahead of classes officially starting. Despite parts of move-in weekend becoming routine for older students, the campus and the atmosphere that’s a part of it are still hard to not be a part of.
“I had no clue what to expect, so I was scared, nervous, and all of that, now that I’ve been here for three years, I have plenty of friends, and it’s a lot more comfortable to return,” said junior from Pennsylvania Grayson Ebner. “Overall, I’ve just been used to everything more.”
WVU Welcome Week will continue with the annual free concert event FallFest, which will be hosted on Monday at the Evansdale Rec Center Fields. The festivities will wrap up with Mountaineer Movie Night that will be hosted at Milan Puskar Stadium at 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday before the start of classes on August 20. With another semester about ready to start, the WVU student community appears ready for the fall semester.
“I got the real move-in experience this year, and it was a lot more hectic than I expected it to be, but overall I’m happy where I am,” said sophomore transfer student from Ohio Marie Gallepo. “I like the school, and I’m excited to start classes.”