Walking around campus with a pep in their step, incoming Bulldogs were pumped up and ready to kick off their first year of college on Thursday when they moved into their residence halls.
Moving into new adventures: Class of 2027 begins first-year college experience
Sep 01, 2023,
by Emma Bartlett
Shimmers of black and gold spread throughout campus Thursday morning as families decked out in Bryant gear walked toward Bristol, Barrington, and Warren residence halls with iced coffees in hand, duffel bags slung over shoulders, and their first-year students by their side. The 73-degree weather and occasional hint of wind made for a crisp move-in process as 976 incoming Bulldogs unloaded cars and settled into dorm rooms.
“I’m excited to see what the next chapter of my son’s life is going to be,” said a smiling David Cacace, who arrived mid-morning on move-in day and was in the beginning stages of unloading a fully stuffed car.
Incoming Bulldogs traveled near and far to Bryant as cars rolled in with license plates from Maine, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and Colorado. After setting up their rooms, meeting roommates, and walking around campus, students settled in for their first college night. Over the course of the coming week, first-years will have a movie night on the Fisher lawn, a food truck fest, casino night, and welcome BBQ. Here are some moments captured from the Class of 2027’s move-in day.
Incoming students didn’t have to wait long for greetings from the campus community. Excited for the Class of 2027’s arrival, these seasoned Bulldogs stationed themselves outside the university entrance and welcomed families as they rolled onto campus.Lillian Stapleton ’26 helped make the first-year move-in process easier by helping deliver students’ belongings to their dorms. Whether it was carrying bedding, wheeling in plastic drawers and cleaning supplies, or bringing in a mini fridge, these student volunteers never missed a beat in getting first-years the help they needed.When he wasn’t posing for photos, high-fiving drivers, or dancing in the street, Bryant’s Tupper mascot lent a helping hand to students, including Nikolai Pelczarski ’27. The Rhode Island native will be studying Entrepreneurship. “I’m looking forward to diving deeper into my interests and future field,” he said.In addition to first year move-in, transfer students made their way to campus on Aug. 31 for transfer student orientation. There, they got the chance to meet university President Ross Gittell, Ph.D., and learned about the campus experience, academic life, university resources, and more.It never hurts to have a gentle reminder to call mom. Hailing from Massachusetts, Chase McClintock ’27 settled into his dorm room in Barrington Hall. He will be studying Business while at Bryant.Move-in day always calls for a trip to the Bryant University Bookstore. On Thursday afternoon, transfer student Ben Linton ’26 stopped in to check out new selections in black and gold. Ready to rep school colors, the incoming Finance major from Massachusetts expressed his interest in exploring the university and its extracurriculars.President Ross Gittell, Ph.D., spent time greeting incoming Bulldogs and stopped to talk with Larissa Marin ’27 who was excited to meet new people and start classes.Thursday called for all hands on deck as parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents, and friends helped their newly minted college students move into Bryant’s residence halls. Getting ready to say goodbye after a long day of unpacking, Matt Santoro ’27 goes in for a hug and kiss from Mom before embarking on his college journey.Kicking off the fun, first-years enjoyed a welcome BBQ and block party Thursday night. With an assortment of inflatable activities, students met their peers while enjoying a popcorn bar and sweet treats from Palagis Ice Cream.With one day down and four years to go, first-years spent their inaugural night on campus connecting with others. The Class of 2027 will be Bryant’s 164th class and students come with a range of interests, including Finance, Actuarial Math and Communication, and Psychology.
