VCU news

By Patrick Kane

A swarm of volunteers surrounded every car or truck that rolled up to 710 W. Franklin St. A dorm room worth of supplies was swiftly moved to the curb, then loaded into a huge cardboard box on a roller to go upstairs.

Spirits were high as the newest Virginia Commonwealth University students moved into their new homes in Brandt and Rhoads halls on the Monroe Park Campus on Saturday. Rodney the Ram posed for selfies, VCU Police officers kept traffic tempers calm and dozens of staffers from Student Affairs and Strategic Enrollment Management kept the process moving like clockwork.

VCU News spoke with several students from the incoming class.

Carly Roberson

Where are you coming from?

Falls Church, Virginia.

Who is helping you move in today?

Both my parents, and my little brother.

Did you have any philosophy when packing?

No. I’m a pretty bad packer. I pretty much packed everything I own. One philosophy: I put all my stuff I was going to hang up on hangers and put plastic bags over it, so it’s ready to hang up.

What are you studying?

Biology. I’ve always been interested in science — it’s my favorite subject. I took a lot of bio in high school.

What made you decide on VCU?

VCU, I love Richmond. I love the diversity and the city setting. It was a good choice in-state. 

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Andrea Roberson (Carly Roberson’s mother)

So this is your second child’s college move-in?

The first one was in Iowa. We drove there. It was a 17-hour drive. It took two days to get him there.

But, [Interstate] 95 is not all that easy. It took three-and-a-half hours for us to get here from Northern Virginia. There’s nothing we can do about that.

 This whole entire process is pretty straightforward, and the volunteers are awesome. 

How has the move-in process been here?

It’s been really, really easy. This whole entire process is pretty straightforward, and the volunteers are awesome. We would have been here a little bit earlier if not for the traffic, but it looks like it’s going to move pretty smoothly.

Any advice for fellow parents of freshmen?

Advice for parents of girls: Don’t let them take everything in their room [laughs].

Gema Torres

Where are you coming from?

Northern Virginia.

What made you decide on VCU?

I like the environment, in a city. You’re not really stuck here, but you can meet other people. That’s what inspired me.

What are you studying?

Right now, it’s undecided but I’d like to see if I can get into the art school and do interior design, because that interests me a lot.

Did you have any philosophy when packing?

We didn’t really think it through a lot. I was kind of scared that I overpacked, but it’s just really bulky stuff.

Lazaro Camero

Where are you coming from?

Cuba, but I have been living [in the U.S.] for two years.

What made you decide on VCU?

Actually it was my mom. We have a community college in Roanoke, but I was like, “Nah I don’t feel like going there.” So I was like, “VCU? Yeah.” Plus, I do track. So I applied here.

What are you studying?

Computer science. I’m good at computers, I guess.

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