Roanoke College freshmen move in

SALEM, Va. (WDBJ) - Roanoke College welcomed incoming freshmen Sunday as the new school year begins.

“As soon as they come, they’re greeted by student leaders and staff members, and we’re just so excited to see them and glad to have them a part of our community,” says the Associate Director of Res Life & Housing, Rachael Clark.

More than 600 new Maroons will join the Roanoke tradition of discovery and innovation this year.

Amelia Easter is an incoming freshman from Charlotte, North Carolina. She says she chose Roanoke for a fresh start.

“It was a place where I knew no one was going at my hometown and I really wanted that fresh start to make a lot of new friends and just have a new environment all together,” says Easter.

She says she can’t wait for classes to start and make new connections.

“I’m just nervous about the workload and seeing how I’m going to transition from high school to college, but I think I’m going to be able to handle it,” explained Easter.

Freshmen had a helping hand from upperclassmen who moved in the day before. One of the helpers, Mac Cafurello, is a rising junior studying to become a teacher.

" I always tell them, that freshmen year is like a trial-and-error process. No matter how much I tell you, it can be different for everyone,” says Cafurello.

Cafurello’s advice for incoming students is to have fun but don’t have too many distractions from your goals.

“What do I put more emphasis on, and what are my priorities, and what are my goals; that’s a big thing as well,” explained Cafurello.

For the new year, leaders at Roanoke College are focusing on ways to prioritize safety.

“One of the things we are going to be doing is looking at our parking lots, making sure we are improving our lotting on campus,” says the Vice President of Student Success & the Roanoke Experience, Brian Reed.

The campus is looking to add more blue phones for better access.

“Blue phones are emergency phones positioned around campus,” added Reed. “We’re really looking at both infrastructure and then a presence of our campus safety around campus.”

Reed advises the community to be cautious when driving by the campus.

“We got a lot of new students who are learning the ropes. A lot of students who come from really small towns that might not have crosswalks and no stop signs even,” states Reed.

Roanoke College plans to host fun events during welcome week to help students connect with each other.

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