Stuffed animals, pillows and lucky gnomes! When it came to move-in day must-haves, incoming freshmen proved that comfort and a touch of home top the list. New students arrived with beloved keepsakes and plenty of excitement as they began a new chapter at SUNY Morrisville.
College faculty, staff and administration officially welcomed new and returning students and their families to campus during Welcome Weekend Aug. 21-24, providing abundant support to help newcomers settle in and ensuring that everything ran smoothly. Classes start Monday, Aug. 25.
Orientation featured insightful sessions, campus activities and social events designed to spark excitement and foster connections.
Members of the college’s athletic teams pitched in with move-in, hauling mini-fridges and guiding carts packed with everything needed for residence hall living.
Beyond the heavy lifting, students also found helping hands and friendly faces ready to guide them in many ways through their first days on campus.
Jacob Works and Abigail Gracey were among a team of Mustang Mentors excitedly awaiting students’ arrival.
“I think it is important to help fellow students adjust to college life and to have a person they can rely on,” said Gracey, a human services major from Oneonta, who is also a mentor in the college’s Advancing Success in Associate Pathways (ASAP) program.
“It is important for both returning and new students to have a good experience. I have been both and I take pride in being able to help,” said Works, a journalism student from Syracuse.
The college offers a wide range of dedicated support programs to help new students at all stages of their academic journey, providing tailored academic and personal guidance to ensure success for both new and continuing students.
Support from the college’s Collegiate Science & Technology Entry Program (CSTEP) has been vital for equine science freshmen Isabella Berrios. “It’s been nice to have a community behind you,” she said of the program. “I tend to be a bit on the quiet side and I like having people to rely on and support me with classes going into something new.”
She brought along four stuffed animals from home to help her settle in, including a blue horse, a reflection of her lifelong love of riding.
“I love the equine program here,” she said. “I have been riding since I was 7 and I’m really passionate about pursuing this career path.”
Meanwhile, Isabelle Baker, from Rochester, was getting to know her roommate Delanie Pritchard, from Rome. Both freshmen are students in the college’s natural resources conservation program. Their families stood side-by-side, helping them through the check-in process and taking in the excitement of move-in day.
To make their space feel a little more like home, Baker brought along several gnomes, small reminders to ease her into residence hall life.
Ready to embrace college life, she shared a message to her fellow Mustang community — “remember, everything adds character.”
While Baker and Pritchard settled into their new space, they were just two of the many faces in this year’s incoming class.
Here is a look at the incoming class by the numbers
• Total new students: 965
• States represented: 16
• Countries represented include: Canada, Portugal, New Zealand, South Africa, Switzerland, South Korea, Hungary, Vietnam
• Student-athletes in the class: 205
• First-generation college students: 526
