A Spirited Welcome for the Class of 2019

FACs raise the energy level early Tuesday morning prior to student move-in. Photos by Jon Gardiner/Duke Photography

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By 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, the early drizzle had stopped and lines of cars bearing the 1,750 members of Duke’s Class of 2019 were snaking their way onto East Campus to the sounds of thumping music and cheering students.

Teams of Duke First-Year Advisory Counselors (FACs) -- student counselors dressed in bright green and Duke blue shirts -- ringed the quad, greeting each new arrival with loud whoops and shouts of “Welcome to Duke!” and “Welcome home!”

The student FACs descended on each car and sprinted back toward the residence halls carrying mirrors, ironing boards, televisions, blankets, bicycles, tennis rackets, refrigerators, flats of Gatorade and other necessities of college life.   

Shayai Vashisth of Dallas had seen the Duke campus several years ago when she attended the summer Talent Identification Program. But Tuesday’s carnival atmosphere -- complete with music, cheers, a campus priest doling out bottles of water and all those smiling, waving students -- was a different experience.

“I’m a little overwhelmed, but in a good way,” Vashisth said with a smile as she tucked one last box under her arm and headed for her dorm.

License plates from Alabama, Connecticut, Texas and more reflected the geographic diversity of the group. The second largest in Duke history, the incoming class includes students from 48 states. International students are also well-represented, hailing from 79 countries.

One of those students, Sophie Van Houweninge of the Netherlands, surveyed the scene from the middle of the East Campus quad Tuesday with her father Mathijs.

“We don’t have dorms in the Netherlands,” Mathijs said. ”Students rent a room in a house. Or you might have a house full of students. But not 1,500 students living together on a quad like this,” he said, waving his arm to take in the scene. 

“It’s an impressive operation that we see here.”

The new class will be able to enjoy several recently refurbished campus buildings, including the Marketplace on East Campus, Brown residence hall on East Campus, Edens Quad residence halls on West Campus and Rubenstein Library, which has undergone a major renovation (see sidebar).

President Richard H. Brodhead and Dean of Undergraduate Education Steve Nowicki pose for a selfie with new students Han Yu and Zhengzhi (Jane) Xu, both from China

On Tuesday, Chris Roy, associate director of undergraduate studies for the chemistry department, smiled as he watched the parade of new arrivals from the sidewalk. Roy is among the faculty-in-residence who will live alongside the first-year students and has attended move-in day for several years running.

Four years ago, he recalls, a minor earthquake set Epworth residence hall to trembling. For a moment, he thought the shouting, jumping teams of students had shaken the building.

The Duke campus was spared any such tremors this year. But the students were every bit as enthusiastic, Roy said.

“If students don’t feel welcomed to Duke after seeing this, well…,” Roy said. “I think it’s terrific. It sets the tone for the rest of the year.”

Nicole Kiprilov of Long Island, meanwhile, was already looking past move-in day.

“Finally I am independent,” she said as she pushed shut the door of her family’s van and glanced up at the entrance of her new home.

“Finally I can start my new life.”

Watch the livestream of the undergraduate convocation Wednesday at 11 a.m. below: