NKU move-in day marks new chapter for students

Cars, carts and cardboard boxes lined the sidewalks on Thursday as more than 1,200 Northern Kentucky University students began moving into their new campus homes.

NKU is welcoming just over 15,300 undergraduate, graduate and online students to campus this year. Students officially return to campus on Monday, but move-in day starts at 7 a.m. on Thursday.

NKU President Cady Short-Thompson said move-in day is a really big deal for students and their families who are coming in with a whole host of emotions.

“This is a really big first day of the rest of their lives, and this is a day that so many of these individuals and their families have dreamt of, have imagined for themselves, and now it’s coming to fruition,” she said. “I can’t help but think of it from a parent’s perspective. I’ve done this three times myself and with each child, different emotions, different imaginations of what was to come.”

NKU senior and nursing major, Jaylin Dehner, is serving in her third year as the resident assistant for The New Residence Hall located in the Boothe Residential Village.

She is responsible for assisting residents, welcoming them to campus, and being a friendly face for them to ask any questions they might have.

“I’ve been here since seven in the morning,” Dehner told LINK nky. “That’s when my shift started, and pretty much, we’re just making sure that families who pull up to the building have their keys ready, that’s ready to go, and then we will unload their cars into moving bins and then take them to their room. We’re just helping everybody out, helping them move into their spaces, and meeting them and their families.”

NKU Vice President of Student Affairs Brandon Thompson, who just started the role in April, said he was excited to have students back on campus. Thompson said his role is to make sure that students feel like the campus is a place that they can call home.

“Research shows that if students get connected to campus within the first six weeks of the semester, they’re more likely to stay and be retained,” Thompson said.

He said the university wants to continue to increase its on-campus population. Thompson said they have the space, so they are going to do everything that they can to show students that when you live on campus, it’s more than just a place to rest your head.

The NKU Women’s Basketball team was on site Thursday, helping students get moved in. LINK nky spoke with Gabby Razzano and Noelle Hubert, who were unloading cars.  

“We’ve been helping students unload their cars, seeing their families, and their excitement about getting other stuff into the dorms, their first time away from home, being excited to be in a new environment and meet new people,” Razzano said.

Razzano and Hubert are both juniors. Razzano is majoring in finance and accounting, and Hubert is majoring in exercise science.

“When they walk in, you can see the nervousness on their face, and it’s just nice to be like, ‘Hi, I’m Noelle,’ put a name to the face, and they can be a friend,” Hubert said. “Like, right, when you step on campus, you’ll recognize somebody.”

Victorfest is held in the first couple of weeks of the semester, which the university utilizes to transition students to campus.

“You get the support of our staff; you get the support of the resources that we have,” Thompson said. “We’re working to get some classes taught within some of our residential facilities as well. Gone are the days of just the dorm. Now we have the residence hall that provides that community and connection point for you.”

Thompson said he is working with some of the colleges to determine what classes would be beneficial for campus residents to take in their own facility. Though they have not finalized the plans for what these courses will be, there is classroom space in a couple of the residence halls, and it was designed for the intent of bringing the classroom into the living area.

New this year at NKU is the Norse Center for Belonging. Its focus is to connect with commuter students and first-generation students. The center is hosting an open house for the campus community on Aug. 27.

“Forty-two percent of our students are first-generation college students, and the idea is really to build a sense of belonging and engagement with these different student populations that have always been, in so many ways, our bread and butter,” Short-Thompson said. “They’re a very common student population here, and we just want to make sure that we’re offering new programs and services that will help them to succeed.”

Thompson said a convocation will be held on Aug. 15, which is a formal ceremony marking the start of the academic year, often including a welcoming address.

Another initiative the university offers to new students is Fresh Fusion, a tabling event where organizations, offices, and community partners share information about their services and programs.

On Saturday, NKU is hosting a back-to-school carnival for students and their families.

Thompson said he is most excited for NKU athletics to start.

“I’m a huge basketball fan, and so are my children,” he said. “My six-year-old already has a Norse basketball jersey that she wears around the house all the time, and so I’m excited to be at Truist Arena to cheer on our Norse athletics.”

Short-Thompson also said she is excited for university athletics but pointed to the new men’s volleyball team that is beginning competition this year for the first time in the university’s history.

Short-Thompson said that students who live on campus succeed at a higher rate than those who don’t.

“They may be rooming with their best friend for the rest of their life,” Short-Thompson said. “They may meet a partner here in the next year who they are with for the rest of their lives. They will meet mentors and professors who will be invested in them for the rest of their lives. So, I just think the beginning is exciting. It provides a whole host of new opportunities for all of them.”