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New students and their families navigate the Yard on move-in day.
Stephanie Mitchell/Harvard Staff Photographer
Campus & Community
‘We’re thrilled to have you here’
Yard teems with sounds and activity, thrill and anxiety, perspiration and emotions on move-in day
Ryan Zhou was preoccupied with transferring belongings into his Weld Hall dormitory on Tuesday alongside his parents and new suitemates, Kelvin Cheung and Ronan Pell, when a knock sounded at the door.
“Hello, Ryan, I’m Hopi,” introduced Hopi Hoekstra, the Edgerley Family Dean of the FAS, entering the room carrying some bags that she assisted Zhou’s brother in bringing up from the vehicle downstairs. “Welcome, we’re thrilled to have you here.”
“I’m eager,” Zhou remarked, while standing in the suite’s communal area filled with duffels, cartons, and linens. “I’m eager to begin meeting new people, forming new friendships, exhilarated for all the professors and the courses.”
Harvard Yard burst to life Tuesday morning as first-year students and their families unloaded vehicles and transported bags and cartons to the dormitories in anticipation of the beginning of their Harvard journey.
Dean Hopi Hoekstra chats with first-years Ronan Pell (left) and Kelvin Cheung as they settle into their new residence at Weld Hall.
Veasey Conway/Harvard Staff Photographer
Zhou and his family arrived from their residence in Ellicott City, Maryland, a few days prior. His father, Ning Zhou, expressed an optimistic outlook regarding the future.
“I am incredibly proud of him and all his hard work,” he stated. “This has always been his dream school. Numerous Harvard alumni shared that the experience was life-changing for them, so I hope he will have a comparable journey.”
“I just feel delighted for him,” Zhou’s mother, Jun Gui, added. “He has found the place he wishes to attend. I haven’t cried yet.”
Welcoming the new students were President Alan Garber (second from left), accompanied by his spouse, Anne Yahanda (far left); Faculty of Arts and Sciences Dean Hopi Hoekstra; and Harvard College Dean David Deming.
Stephanie Mitchell/Harvard Staff Photographer
First-year Cate Frerichs with her mother, Desiree Luccio.
Stephanie Mitchell/Harvard Staff Photographer
First-year Jose Garcia assists in lifting a box up a staircase at Hollis Hall.
Veasey Conway/Harvard Staff Photographer
Senior Lexi Triantis enjoys a bubble break outside Hollis Hall.
Veasey Conway/Harvard Staff Photographer
Boxes gather in a staging area outside the Science Center.
Veasey Conway/Harvard Staff Photographer
“““html A T-shirt embellished with symbols of Harvard’s first-year Houses. Stephanie Mitchell/Harvard Staff Photographer
By Johnston Gate, a cohort of upperclassmen from the Crimson Key Society, brandishing a “Welcome to Harvard” banner, performed songs by Nicki Minaj and Bruno Mars while dancing and waving to the vehicles arriving. In front of every dormitory, upperclassmen Peer Advising Fellows, clad in crimson shirts, welcomed incoming students and guided them to their residences.
“What makes move-in day so extraordinary?” Hoekstra remarked. “Three factors: Experiencing the enthusiasm that our returning students bring to welcoming new first-years into the Harvard fold. Encountering proud, and sometimes anxious, parents who have journeyed from across the globe. Observing new bonds form between roommates meeting for the first time — relationships that often endure not only throughout four years at Harvard but for a lifetime.”
“A number of Harvard alumni informed him that the experience was life-changing, so I hope he will have a comparable experience.”
Ning Zhou, about son Ryan
Leila Holland along with her parents, Keisha and Jaime Holland, from Long Beach, California, absorbed the atmosphere as they paused outside the key distribution area in the center of the green. Leila, who had just collected her ID and registration book, expressed her eagerness to see her Hollis Hall accommodation.
“I’m slightly apprehensive, but I’m genuinely thrilled to become part of a new community,” she stated.
Jaime Holland acknowledged that this will be a period of transition.
“It’s all about the discovery journey, as she navigates what she wishes to pursue and the kind of individual she aims to become,” he mentioned. “This is an excellent setting to accomplish that.”
David Deming, Danoff Dean of Harvard College, navigated between the parked vehicles, cheerfully accepting a black wheeled suitcase and a pink wall sign from a family’s car, guiding them towards Weld.
“Move-in day is among my absolute favorite days at Harvard,” Deming shared. “There’s an abundance of uplifting energy and excitement. I sense that as well in my inaugural year as dean. It’s wonderful to assist new students in settling in and to share in their positive energy.”
Outside Grays Hall, Harvard President Alan Garber and his wife, Anne Yahanda, engaged with parents, exchanging anecdotes and reminiscing about their own experiences of dropping their children off at college.
“For everyone here, all the diligence, everything they’ve accomplished — it’s truly a remarkable achievement and aspiration.”
Desiree Luccio
For many parents, move-in day brings forth mixed emotions.
Desiree Luccio couldn’t help but become emotional as she discussed moving her daughter, Cate Frerichs, into Wigglesworth Hall. The pair sported matching crimson Harvard sweatshirts.
“I didn’t shed tears at graduation, but now it’s all hitting me,” Luccio confided. “For everyone here, all the effort and everything they’ve achieved — it’s such a remarkable accomplishment and dream.”
For her part, Frerichs was especially eager to embrace her role as a student athlete — she will serve as a coxswain on the men’s heavyweight rowing team.
“I suppose I’m both anxious and thrilled,” Frerichs expressed. “I’ve met my roommates, and I’m looking forward to living with them and meeting everyone else.”
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