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Thursday鈥檚 bustling operation at the 130,000-square-foot residence hall marked the annual Move-In Day for first-year UMSL students and offered ample evidence that the has the process down to a science.

This is the second consecutive year that the move-in schedule has been spread across three days to create a more orderly, efficient process. On Wednesday, students enrolled in the joined a handful of groups already settled, including fall athletes, some international students and students in the programs. Meanwhile, returning students headed back to Oak Hall on Friday.

, resident director at Oak Hall, said Thursday鈥檚 event followed the previous year鈥檚 blueprint, while it also saw an uptick in participation from faculty, staff and students. Volunteers from across campus greeted families in the Oak Hall parking lot, unloaded their cars and shuttled the students鈥� belongings to their rooms. The helping hands freed students to pick up their Triton Cards and head to check-in tables, where resident assistants then escorted them to their new quarters.

, a student recruitment specialist in the , was just one of many UMSL community members contributing to the effort. Baltz remembered her own hectic experience moving onto campus as a new college student and said it motivated her to bring a little 鈥淭riton magic鈥� to the proceedings.

鈥淚n admissions, we work with these students all year, getting them through the application process and getting them admitted,鈥� she said. 鈥淪o, it鈥檚 really nice to see it come full circle and help them get started before classes.鈥�

Marshall said things ran smoothly thanks to the care of volunteers like Baltz and added that the new students seemed to appreciate new touches to Oak Hall, which will be at capacity during the fall semester.

鈥淚鈥檝e heard nothing but positive things this year,鈥� Marshall said. 鈥淧eople are enjoying the updates that we made. We painted some walls red, and we added a mural. We have a new dining company, and they鈥檝e been really great in stocking our C-Store and having some new options for students. We have some new signage up just to give students directions on the guest policy and rules in the game room and things like that.鈥�

Logan Huff was already well acquainted with UMSL before arriving on campus Thursday morning. As a student at Parkway South High School, Huff participated in music camps at the university and sang in two winter concerts at the . Those positive experiences informed his decision to become a Triton.

鈥淚 actually went to one of the Acappelloozas my freshman year,鈥� he said. 鈥淔rom there, I knew was the choir professor and director of Acappellooza, and I was like, 鈥楾his is just a really nice place, and I don鈥檛 see why I should choose anywhere else when I know the choir director.鈥欌��

Huff plans to major in either , with a concentration in vocal performance. The baritone bass auditioned for the in February and earned a place in the concert choir. He also plans to audition for , UMSL鈥檚 a cappella ensemble.

鈥淚鈥檓 a little biased, but I鈥檓 most looking forward to the choir classes,鈥� Huff said. 鈥淚鈥檓 just excited to see what songs we do, see what kind of people I meet. I鈥檓 excited for all the concerts, too.鈥�

Nashara Flowers made the journey to UMSL from Nassau, Bahamas. The university鈥檚 reputation has grown in the island nation in recent years thanks to innovative partnerships with and . Flowers plans to pursue a degree in Spanish in the .

She was a bit nervous the week before Move-In Day, but that apprehensiveness turned into excitement after arriving in 最新杏吧原创. It helped that her mother, Vonetta Darling, and godchild, La鈥橲hanta Rolle, were on hand to help her get acclimated. She also had a chance to connect with other Bahamian students.

鈥淚 think the UMSL community is very welcoming,鈥� she said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of Bahamians at UMSL currently, and I hope that the Bahamian population expands.鈥�

Kobe Hunt made the six-hour drive from Milwaukee with his mother, Heidi. Hunt is planning to study with an eye toward law school after graduation. His high school鈥檚 college advising program helped him land on UMSL for his undergraduate education. He applied to 30 universities and narrowed his list to 10 top contenders before making a final decision.

鈥淭hose last 10 schools, I went and visited,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 thought, 鈥榃hich one do I like the location of most? Which one do I like the dorms the most? Which one do I like the food at most?鈥� UMSL low-key took the cake for all of those.鈥�

Haylee Jones also chose UMSL on the strength of a campus tour with her parents. Jones, who graduated from North County High School in Bonne Terre, Missouri, is planning to major in .

Hunt and Jones are both looking forward to making new friends, and Hunt is also hoping to work in game-day operations with UMSL Athletics.

Baltz had some sage advice for new students as they embarked on an exciting new chapter.

鈥淓njoy every moment and soak it in,鈥� she said. 鈥淵our time on campus is what you make of it, so get involved as much as you can.鈥�