Florida A&M University’s campus buzzed with activity Monday morning as students began moving in ahead of the first day of classes next week.
Cars, SUVs and mini-vans lined Osceola Street as parents brought first-time-in-college students to the 700-bed FAMU Towers North and South.
President Larry Robinson, Ph.D., members of the Senior Leadership Team (SLT), Office of University Housing staff and scores of student volunteers were on hand to welcome the new arrivals as they pushed carts and trolleys with small refrigerators, microwaves, and other household items along the walkways and into the two four-story buildings.
Wayne Thomas and his wife drove 17 hours from Detroit, Michigan, with their youngest daughter Alexa to move-in on Monday morning. The Tallahassee campus was her top choice among Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).
“We had looked at a number of HBCUs; however, when we got to FAMU, she stopped us and said, ‘this is it, Mom and Dad; I am home,’” Thomas said.
As she paused for a moment while carrying more items to her new home in the Towers South, Alexa shared her parents’ excitement over beginning her FAMU journey as an economics major. “I am ecstatic to be here,” she said. “I can’t wait to get into student leadership and everything else FAMU has to offer.”
The move in days were scheduled for Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and the weekend, when students settle into Polkinghorne Villages, Sampson, Young, Palmetto South and Phase III residence halls. Students moving into Palmetto South and Phase III will see renovated accommodations. The University invested $3.5 million to modernize and update amenities such as stainless-steel refrigerators and microwaves, new Corian counter tops, and modern showers. Administrators expect that between 98 and 100 percent of the 2,679 on campus beds will be filled this fall.
“It’s an exciting time for parents and students, particularly incoming first-time-in-college students, making the transition to FAMU,” Vice President for Student Affairs William E. Hudson, Jr, Ph.D., said Monday. “They’re coming to beautiful facilities. We have faculty, staff, students, and alumni supporting them, and helping them move their things in. This is what the FAMUly is about.”
Students’ arrival on campus coincides with Welcome Week, which includes the President’s Ice Cream Social and the Student Government Association Summer Crab Boil, both of which will be held Friday at the Will Packer Performing Arts Amphitheater parking lot.
Events culminate at 1 p.m., on Sunday, August 27 with the Freshman Transition Ceremony at Jake Gaither Gymnasium. The first day of fall semester classes is August 28.
