The late summer ritual for Miami, which is the county’s biggest university and employer, saw smiling newcomers and upperclassman moving into residence halls and off-campus housing under the watchful and sometimes teary eyes of their parents.
The fathers and mothers said they appreciated the army of Miami employees — including President Gregory Crawford — who helped freshmen students move their belongings into the residence halls.
“Miami does a fantastic job and I’m super excited they have people who actually help us unload the car. That’s not the case at other universities where our children attend,” said Matt Gagerman from Illinois as his family van queued up with dozens of other vehicles.
He and other parents commented on the widely acclaimed beauty of Miami’s main campus, which enrolls about 16,000 undergraduate and graduate students of Miami’s total student body of more than 22,000 including regional campuses in Hamilton and Middletown.
“It’s a gorgeous campus. This is my first time here and I love how small it feels but how big it is,” he said.
Mark Lynch and family from Iowa said “it’s a big day for us with our first born of four starting college.”
Lynch said he especially appreciated the school’s personalized approach for families of new students, who will be treated all weekend with a variety of informational and fun events throughout the campus as they prepare for classes to begin Monday.
“You can tell they (school officials) care. The students aren’t just numbers here like some of the other colleges we visited,” said Lynch.
His son Tate Lynch echoed his father’s first impressions saying “I was first attracted to the business school but second was the campus, which is the nicest I’ve seen of all the campuses I’ve visited.”
“I’m really excited,” said the freshman.
That’s the vibe Miami’s leader enjoys soaking in during each move-in day, said Crawford.
“We’re so excited to have the students here and to welcome a new class,” said Crawford of the more than 4,000 members of the graduating class of 2029.
Miami officials said the new class has an average high school GPA of 3.87 with 18% being first-generation college students and 66% coming from throughout Ohio. Joining them are students from 43 other states and 37 nations.
Crawford said he likes going around to the resident hall rooms to meet the students and their parents.
The school president, who is an avid runner and energetic bike rider known to travel around campus that way, chuckled and noted in past years he would occasionally help haul in students’ gear but now being older “I mostly watch them move in.”
When chatting up students, Crawford said he passes on a tradition learned from his father when discussing school.
“I always end the conservations with ‘study hard.’”
Dominic Dellisanti, freshman from Perrysburg, Ohio, paused during his move in and said the more he sees of his new school, the more he feels good about his decision to attend Miami.
“It’s a great school and I really love the campus. And I like the vibe of Oxford. I’m trying to soak in this first day and enjoy every minute of it.”
About the Author