Freshman move-in day at Newman University kicked off at 8 a.m. Aug. 23 with a little help from Residence Life, First Year Experience (FYE) members, Campus Ministry, the women’s basketball team and the Newman cheer and dance team.
Chick-fil-A made an appearance and served iced coffee, tea and Chick-n-Minis — their famous bite-sized breakfast. The Adorers of the Blood of Christ (ASC) sisters also set up shop with tasty homemade treats and lemonade outside of The Landing, an ASC residency located just east of Carrocci Hall.
Junior Emily Larkin, a second-year FYE member, excitedly helped students carry their belongings into the residence halls.
“As returning students, we’ll sometimes get to midterms and forget about how exciting it is to be in college,” she said. “So seeing all these people fresh out of high school coming and having so much Jet pride is really awesome.”
Freshman Julia Myers, from Lawrence, Kansas, was drawn to Newman because of the nursing program and the community aspect, she said.
“Getting to know a bunch of new people is really exciting to me,” she said. “I just rolled up in my car, and everyone came and crowded around to help me with my things. I thought, ‘Wow, I don’t even have to do any work.’
“We were expecting to have to haul all of my stuff up to my dorm room, so it was really unexpected and nice.”
Freshman Peyton Keller, from Cheney, Kansas, discovered Newman through the cheer and dance team. Most athletes were required to move onto campus on Aug. 12 to start practice, and Keller was no exception.
“It was so dead before everyone got here,” she said. “(Helping out with) move-in day has been really nice because now everyone is here and I actually get to meet people. Once the season starts, I’m most excited to perform at the halftime shows at games.”
Since age 2, Keller has been dancing. She has tried tap dancing, ballet, lyrical, cheer and jazz, but her favorite style is hip-hop, she said. Keller’s hectic schedule of school, dance and driving to visit close friends leaves her just enough time for her favorite hobby.
“I love to sleep,” she said with a smile. “I’m so busy all of the time, so I really enjoy when I get to sleep.”
Fellow teammate and Kansas City native Dominica Johnson brought her love for theater and the performing arts with her.
“Last spring, I came and saw the colorful show, ‘Pure Imagination,’ and fell in love with Newman,” Johnson said. “I miss singing, dancing, acting and cheering so I’m so excited for classes to start.”
When Johnson first moved in, she was very nervous, she said.
“But then I found out my RA (resident assistant) is Katie Sullivan, who is on the dance team as well, which is really fun,” she said. “Knowing her, I thought, ‘This is going to be OK.’ I was very organized with the process of moving in, and I’ve been saying it all week — I’m so excited for classes to start.”
Freshman Arnor Jonsson traveled more than 3,500 miles to attend college. Originally from Iceland, Jonsson was recruited by Head Men’s Soccer Coach Cliff Brown to play on the team at Newman.
“Chase (Bowman) helped me a lot, so moving in was an easy process,” Jonsson said. “It’s all been good so far and I’m looking forward to playing this soccer season.”
Junior Courtney Klaus volunteered at move-in day last year as an FYE member, but this year she helped as a resident assistant.
“I think it’s a lot calmer now that we have a whole day to move people in,” Klaus said. “We’ve had a lot more time to focus in on one student, move them in and get them all taken care of, and I like that.
“Plus, I thought it was awesome that Chick-fil-A was here because I got to dance with the cow mascot,” she added. “We sure didn’t have that last year, and that had to be one of the highlights of my day.”
