BOZEMAN – It’s that time of year again for students to come back to Montana State University. The energy was at an all-time high Wednesday morning as freshmen moved into the residence halls for the first time.
“Campus is coming back to life with the arrival of all of our students, and we could not be any happier,” said MSU President Waded Cruzado.
“This is a great opportunity for us to all come together. The faculty, students, staff, alumni, neighbors from the community, volunteers and we all want to say welcome to Montana State. This is your university,” she said.
Several packed cars, lots of new students and even more parents fill the campus in late August every year for this special day at the university.
Move-in Day is a big day for MSU every year, and this year they moved in more than 3,000 first-year students.
Faculty, staff, students and community members volunteer to help make this day possible every year.
“It feels like a very special day,” Cruzado said. “It’s a confluence of emotions. Our people are happy, they are excited, they’re also afraid about what the future holds. It’s a great opportunity for us to come out together as a unified front, as a community, to tell our students how important they are to Montana State University.”
MSU junior and move-in day volunteer Alec Lewis said, “Absolutely it brings back memories. It’s funny because you always think back on freshman year as a very fun experience and a lot of memories but at the time it’s nerve-racking and pretty scary so it’s fun to see that and also see the parents losing their minds a little bit too is also fun.”
Upperclassmen believe it’s important to give back to their university and new Bobcats.
“Because it meant a lot when I was in these guys’ positions and had helpful people around us to ask questions and help move in so it’s the least we can do is to give back to them to set an example for the future,” Lewis said.
The university values the efforts that go into Move-in Day, especially from the community of Bozeman.
“Without the community support we would not be here and that’s something that’s something that we also add in terms of purpose and a meaning to our students,” Cruzado said.
“We want to make sure that not only they graduate but that they go out and they are wonderful citizens and also human beings that enjoy a good and healthy life,” she added.
MSU will continue to welcome their students with events throughout the rest of the week leading up to the first day of classes on Monday.
Story by Emma Hamilton, MTN News
