The Daily Gamecock

New students arrive on campus for Move-in Day

An array of languages fill the air by Maxcy and Thornwell. Students line up with futons and suitcases by the Honors residence hall, and the sun has only just peeked through the clouds.Throughout campus, Monday brought thousands of new arrivals moving onto campus.

“I think it’s totally different ... Hong Kong, you know, all skyscrapers,” said third-year international business student Warren Teng from Hong Kong. “It’s a really hectic and busy city. But here it’s like an urban lifestyle. You have trees, green areas, and of course height of the buildings, they're not as tall.”

While some students have moved in early for sorority recruitment and marching band camp, most freshmen and some upperclassmen moved in on Aug. 20. Move-in times are staggered, so that over 8,000 students do not crowd the already busy sidewalks and roads of Columbia.

“Move-in day so far has been great,” said Lisa Burke, mother of first-year chemical engineering student Adam Burke. “Not too hot. Unloading has been easy, lots of people to help, so not nearly the chaos that I was anticipating.”

The International House at Maxcy and the Thornwell Language Annex welcomes most of the university’s international students. One of the first students moving in was first-year psychology student Sharla Williams.

“Well, my family’s from Central America, Belize, so I knew I wanted the whole college experience and I thought that Maxcy would grant me more experience with different people,” Williams said.

Maxcy houses a mix of American and international students so that everyone receives a diverse education during their time at USC. Students that apply to live in Maxcy are dedicated to interacting with different cultures and embracing a new way of living.

“It’s a core class so it’s actually a joint agreement between my home university and USC. So, I get enrolled in with the IBC program at my home university so we have to come to here to study and complete the whole course,” Teng said. “But actually, USC is definitely really famous in international business so that’s why we’re here: to broaden our horizons and impact different parts of the world.”

Some of the incoming students have already familiarized themselves with the university through summer camps and other high school opportunities. These programs can showcase USC’s programs and opportunities and draw in prospective students

“My son was in a magnet program at Spring Valley High School and it was a research-based program and so he did a lot of stuff down here related to that ... the campus and the overall feeling that he got when he came down to view the campus and everything, everybody was so welcoming,” said Lanie Johnson, mother of Evan Johnson, a first-year biochemistry and molecular biology student.

Even the familiarity does not always ease parents’ anxieties as they leave their students in their residence hall and return home. Move-in day is a bittersweet moment as young adults embrace freedom and responsibility and parents adjust to their new life.

“Our son did three summer camps here and stayed in the honors dorm three times in the past so that actually is really nice because there is familiarity and he feels really comfortable, which makes me feel much more comfortable,” Burke said. “But, there’s a lot of newness and a lot of time to fill and so that’s where some of the anxiety for me comes in.”

Many students were already focused on figuring out how to maximize their college experience. Whether they are studying biochemistry, doing undergraduate research or attending culture nights at Maxcy and Thornwell, students are engaged.

“It’s a totally different country so we’re planning, of course we’ll do studies, but of course we are traveling around, and I’m excited to meet new people, new friends,” Teng said. “My roommate is from the U.K. so it’s pretty diverse, like I meet Americans ... but meanwhile I meet people from France, from U.K., from Aruba as well.”


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