By Walter Villa, Special to STU
Moving vans rolled in, golf carts whizzed by … St. Thomas University was a beehive of activity on Thursday morning as STU’s most valuable resource – its STUdents — moved in on campus.
Over 550 STUdents, new to STU this Fall, arrived on Thursday. Over 1,100 are slated to move in over the weekend.
Fall 2024 will see a record number of new students, a record number of returning students, and a record number of total students.
As part of his annual tradition, STU President David A. Armstrong, J.D., helped students move in, carrying boxes and chatting with the young men and women who make this campus come alive every fall.
“My two favorite days of the year on a college campus are Move-In Day and Commencement,” President Armstrong said. “Those are the most joyous days on a campus.
“Move-In Day – everybody is so excited. All the families are here. Our entire team comes out to help the students move in.
“It’s a great bonding experience. It’s fantastic.”
Move-In Day is like baseball’s spring training – optimism abounds.
“Absolutely,” President Armstrong said. “Everyone comes in fresh and new and revitalized. It revitalizes us (as administrators, faculty, and staff). It’s just great.”
Cydnee Brooks is an example of one of the students who met President Armstrong on Thursday.
Brooks, a first-year student from Bradenton River High, chose STU in part because she was recruited to play flag football.
“I also love this area and the opportunity to market myself and meet new people,” said Brooks, who is planning on majoring in Business and Finance.
Brooks said she was shocked when President Armstrong helped her move into her dorm at Cascia Hall.
“I thought he was just coming to introduce himself,” Brooks said. “But he helped me all the way up the stairs.
“I thought that was pretty cool.”
Brooks said STU’s flag football coach, Erick Burzanko, had told her that everyone on campus is “tight knit,” and she was able to experience that on her first day as a member of the Bobcats.
“All the halls are near each other,” Brooks observed. “Everyone comes out to see each other.
“That was the cool that the President help me, but it just shows how everyone is close-knit.”
