Freshmen welcomed to UIS residence halls as fall semester begins

Hundreds of new college freshmen and their parents flooded the campus of the University of Illinois Springfield on Wednesday, August 17, 2011. The students spent the day moving into Lincoln and Founders Residence Halls with the help of dozens of volunteers.

“There’s a sense of excitement about move-in day that I think is like nothing else,” said Susan J. Koch, UIS chancellor. “One of the things I enjoy more than anything is just spending a little time with students and their parents.”

Students were assigned arrival times in an effort to avoid headaches and congestion. Volunteers helped direct parents to parking spaces, helped with unloading, carried items, and led students to their new rooms.

“I wouldn’t say it’s military precision, but it’s close,” said John Ringle, UIS director of housing and residential life.

New freshmen student Marcella Flowers traveled to Springfield with her parents, John and Rosemary. She has been looking forward to this experience, but admits it’s not easy leaving home.

“I wasn’t nervous at first, but then I got nervous right when we pulled into Springfield,” said Marcella.

She passed up an opportunity to attend the University of Iowa, because she believed UIS was a better fit and her parents agree.

“We like the campus. We like that size of it and the layout and we think it’s a good fit for Marcella,” said John. “We like the fact it’s not as big as the Urbana-Champaign campus. We also like the fact that it’s a University of Illinois degree when she finishes.”

For others, like Iris McFall it’s hard to let her only son, Claude Henry, start the next chapter in his life, but she knows it will pay off in the future.

“I want nothing, but the best for him. I’m going to miss him, but I’m really excited, and so is he, that he’s going to be attending college,” said McFall.

For more on move-in dates and other details visit the UIS Housing website.