Happy tears

Story by Brian Patch; Video by Kris Sproles

This week, more than 2,000 students are moving onto Wright State to begin the 2019-2020 school year. Over 900 of these will be first-time students, leaving the comfort of their own homes and families to move onto Wright State in pursuit of their college education.

Wright State President Cheryl B. Schrader said this is one of her favorite times of the year.

“I’ve never seen a university do move in like Wright State does,” she said. “We have hundreds of volunteers and we are all here to welcome our students back and to welcome our new students to the Raider family.”

Operation Move-In began Aug. 22 when new students moved into residence halls on the Dayton Campus.

One of those new students joining the Raider family was Morgan Galloway, a freshman business administration major. While she has mixed emotions about moving in, Galloway said she was excited to begin her college journey, meet new people and enjoy college activities.

“Just to have a whole different experience than what I’m used to — so meeting new people, going to football games and stuff like that,” she said.

Galloway’s mother, Nicole Ivory, also had mixed emotions about her daughter moving in but said she was excited for Morgan.

“I have a lot of mixed emotions,” she said. “I’m sad, I’m happy, I’m excited, I’m anxious, but I’m excited for her.”

Erin Comerford, a first-year nursing major, also moved into the dorms for the first time. She said she was excited for the opportunity to meet new people as well as the proximity of the dorms to the College of Nursing and Health.

“I’m excited to move in and get started with classes and meet new people,” she said. “Because it’s on campus, I don’t have to walk off campus just to go to my classes.

Hundreds of volunteers consisting of students, faculty, staff and alumni helped with Operation Move-In 2019. Sean McGraw, a psychology major at Wright State, said he noticed a lot of smiles and happy vibes throughout Move-In Day.

“I noticed that things seem to be going really smoothly this year,” he said. “People seem to be really positive and very optimistic, despite the natural nerves of a first-time move in.”

McGraw also advised to new students to get involved as much as possible. “It will make your time in college so much more enjoyable,” McGraw said. “Work hard and go out of your way to meet new people.”