New beginnings, new friends and a sense of community were on the minds of Troy University students moving into their dorms for the new academic year as well as the more than 200 girls waiting to rush to their new sorority home.
Cars, trucks and trailers filled to the brim with dorm room essentials could be spotted in every corner of campus Saturday during TROY’s Move-In Day as students and their families arrived to kick off the start of the fall semester.
Emily Nicholson, a freshman from Smiths Station, Ala., said she was most excited to meet new people, start classes, adventure and make TROY her home. She is interested in studying nursing and first learned about TROY from her cousin and other alums from her hometown.
“Everyone loved it and talked all about it, so it caught my attention,” she said.
Nicholson moved to campus with her best friend and fellow incoming freshman Taylor Sanders, a TROY cheerleader majoring in exercise science.
“I’m super excited for gamedays,” Sanders said. “Just the family aspect of everything. Cheerleading brought me to TROY, but I love the campus and I’m so excited to start classes.”
Nicholson’s mom, Tricia, helped the pair settle in and said the day was bittersweet.
“I’m very thankful they’re getting to be here together,” she said. “I feel good about the campus and her being safe. I’m excited for her to spread her wings.”
Frank Studinka, a junior music industry major from Homewood, Ala., said he’s most looking forward to seeing his Alpha Tau Omega fraternity brothers again and getting one step closer to graduating.
“I’m really looking forward to seeing my fraternity brothers again and the classes I’m taking,” he said. “My goal for the year is to continue to make good grades and make time for my friends.”
Studinka also offered up some advice to the incoming freshmen: don’t skip any classes—especially labs—and always try to make friends whenever you can.
“It may suck, but don’t skip labs. You can’t make those up,” he said. “Any time you can, go out and make friends. Going out and making friend beats sitting around in your dorm room all day.”
Across campus, 235 hopeful sorority sisters waited at the Elm Street Gym to see which new family they’d be joining.
Avery Longshore, a freshman nursing major from Cuthbert, Ga., said the recruitment week had been incredibly rewarding.
“I’ve met so many new people this week and made so many new friends just from being involved in rushing alone. I’m really looking forward to being part of a community” she said. “Chi-O baby!”
Ella Loudon, a freshman elementary education major from Trussville, Ala., and Longshore’s roommate during rush, said she applied at the urging of her mom, an alum from the Dothan Campus, and loved it from the second she stepped foot on campus.
“This week was great. All the girls at all of the houses were so sweet, and I would’ve been lucky to be in any of them,” she said. “My Pi Chi group has been the most amazing part of it all. I don’t like change, so having this group of sisters to be there to support me through this new stage of life is very important to me.”
Sorority bids were handed out promptly at 10 a.m., and each girl who received a bid had the chance to join a longstanding tradition of running up the hill to her awaiting sorority family. Coverage of the event can be foundhere.
