It was cloudy and humid on the Catawba College campus on Saturday, August 13, but that did not stop resolute first-year students, with their families in tow, from moving into their residence halls.
Although some students had already staked their claims on campus earlier in the week, including athletes, resident assistants, and members of the Catawba Pride Marching Band, the influx of first-year students will help fill the residence halls to capacity. As remaining upperclassmen move in between now and the first day of classes on Wednesday, August 17, 731 students will be housed on campus, up from 642 in the fall of 2010.
Upperclass students in orange t-shirts, Alphas, were on hand to assist in the move-in by helping carry the new students' belongings from vehicles to rooms. The trips were numerous and the belongings plentiful.
"I have so many clothes that it took my boyfriend and me a dozen trips to carry them from the car," explained Chelsea Retalic of Concord who claimed her room in Woodson Residence Hall on Monday, August 8. She is a member of the new Catawba Pride Marching Band's color guard and came to campus early to participate in a weeklong band camp. She pulled back a closet curtain she had made using a white bed sheet splattered with different colors of paint to reveal her extensive wardrobe.
Allen and Cindy McMillan, accompanied by their son Andrew and his new wife Lainey [Edwards], both 2011 graduates from Catawba, helped their daughter, Leslie, move into her space in Salisbury-Rowan Residence Hall. Leslie, who will be a cheerleader at Catawba, is the third of the children in her family to attend the college. Her eldest brother, Kevin, graduated in 2009. Leslie, who is entering as a junior, transferred to Catawba from Rowan-Cabarrus Community College.
"We let all of our children decide where they wanted to go to school," explained Cindy McMillan. "They all visited other colleges, but they all chose Catawba."
Nick Rodriguez of Dunn, like Chelsea Retalic, moved in on August 8 so he could participate in band camp. He noted that his mother was on her way back to campus for orientation activities. "I'll get to see my mom cry her eyes out again when she leaves me for the second time this week," he joked. "She did it on Monday when she left me and she'll probably do it again. She and I have always been really close."
Rodriguez got to know Catawba when he attended Tar Heel Boys' State on campus during his junior year in high school. He came back to Catawba to participate in Boys' State again this summer as one of its counselors. He enters Catawba as a West Scholar in the Academy for Teaching and plans a career in education.
Kaleigh Reidy of Raleigh was recruited to the college as an inaugural member of the Women's Lacrosse Team. Her parents, Terri and John, helped her move in to Salisbury-Rowan Hall.
"We're very, very proud of her and we'll miss her," explained Terri Reidy. "As long as she texts me and calls me, I'm good."
With just a little apprehension, Sandy Fesperman of Kannapolis, mom of softball player, Kimberly Fesperman, said she did not want to talk about "leaving" her daughter at Catawba. "I guess living close by to where she is in college makes a difference and makes it [leaving Kimberly on campus] a little bit easier."
Sarah Rossini, Catawba's Assistant Dean of Students and Director of Residence Life, said that although there were a few bumps on move-in day, such as a temporary air-conditioning outage in the Cannon Student Center, everything went smoothly. She said her residence assistants had just completed a week of training with "The Few, The Proud" as the training theme. When her phone rang to the tune of "Danger Zone," she knew immediately it was one of her RAs calling.
"There are always a few students with allergies or medical issues that we needed to attend to when we make housing assignments, but nothing out of the ordinary this year," Rossini said. "One of the funniest things I've heard was a request for a room with a view."
RELATED CONTENT:
Orientation Schedule and Information
Parents and Class of 2015: Tweet Your Move-In Day Experiences @CatawbaCollege (Hashtag #catu2015)
