Campus Life welcomes freshmen to AU

Move-in day marks the “birth of a new year” for Thomas Elness.

Directing traffic outside the Bergsaker dorms, the admissions counselor is one of many staffers welcoming students to campus for the 2019-2020 academic year. Over 90 Viking Guides and Advisors raided student and parent vehicles to carry futons, television screens and laundry baskets of school supplies up the stairs of Bergsaker, Solberg and Tuve halls.

The tradition of “move-in” day started in 1983, according to Michelle Harvey, associate director of campus life for student engagement. About 520 freshmen, transfer students and Augie Access students moved onto campus Saturday morning.

Twins from Chanhassen, Minnesota, Shannon and Rachel Kimsal left their hometown at 4 a.m. for the drive to campus with their dad. For Shannon, the hardest part was saying goodbye to Junie, their German shepherd dog.

Move-in day can be an emotional experience for some students and parents, according to President Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, as it’s the first day of a “really big transition.”

“Don’t be stressed about anything,” Herseth Sandlin said as she shook hands with parents through their car windows outside Bergsaker dorms. “Let us handle the details for you.”

Noah Langley, a junior English and education major, is one of the many Viking Guides helping with those details. Before 10 a.m., he’d already moved eight futons from trunks to dorm rooms—one of which his friend Nolan Ortbahn, a junior STEM composite and education major, set down his camera to help carry.

“I’m just excited to see the freshmen get acclimated to their Augie home,” Ortbahn said.

Click to enlarge photos in the gallery below.