Monday, September 8, 2008

Move-in Day


Move-in Day was last week. It was great to see our freshmen students settling into their new homes. As part of Move-in Day, Fort Lewis faculty and staff are there to lend a hand. Our involvement shows families that we care about their students and want to make Fort Lewis feel like a home away from home. After a long day of moving boxes and furniture, I was tired.
But I also had developed a Top 10 list for moving into dorms:
10. Measure your room first. I saw a good number of disappointed students who couldn't fit their extra-long couch into their room.
9. Hang a dry erase board on the exterior of your door so that friends can leave you messages.
8. Call your roommate prior to Move-In Day so that you can divide up items to bring such as TV, stereo, Wii, etc.
7. Bring posters. Add some of your personality to your walls.
6. Bring flip-flops or shower shoes for trips to the bathroom.
5. Don't use nails or screws when hanging up items. You'll pay for these marks on Move-Out Day.
4. Ask your parents to send care-packages to you. There's nothing like a care-package from home in the middle of the semester. An instant pick-me up.
3. Bring food and snacks. It might be a while before you make it to the grocery store. Stock up in advance.
2. Bring a hand-truck with wheels especially if you live on the 2nd floor. This will greatly ease your move-in process.
1. Enjoy the day, and get to know your hallmates. You'll spend a lot of time in your dorm. Be social and have fun!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

This reminds me of when I moved into Crofton Hall in 2005. When I had come to Fort Lewis for a tour my senior year of high school the weather had been foggy and rainy. As I drove up on to the hill and onto Rim Drive my eyes were blessed with the magnificence of the La Plata Mountains. I had not realized how beautiful the place I was moving to was going to be. I was so excited and nervous about moving into my new room, meeting my roommate, and making new friends. I had filled up my little Subaru wagon with most of my possessions and was ready to unload.
I had arrived bright and early at 9:30 am, disappointed to find out that I had to wait for check-in until 10 am. I was the fourth person in line to get my keys to my new room. I knew I was going to have to get used to carrying my keys, because I had never owned a house key before. I open the door to my new room. I was there before my roommate so I was able to choose which side I wanted to sleep on. I went for the west side of the room and began to bring my boxes in. My roommate arrived as I was putting my new blue XL twin sheets on my bed. We had talked earlier in the summer and had decided that I would bring a TV and fridge, while she would bring a DVD player and a microwave. At first I felt anxious, “Will I like her? Will she like me?” and other similar thoughts ran through my head. We introduced ourselves and gave each other a hug; it looked already like this would be the start of a great friendship.
My mother finished bringing in the last of my boxes and said goodbye and left to go have lunch with a local friend. “I will be back at 5 to pick you up for dinner go have fun getting to know your roommate“she told me as she left. I came into the room and asked my roommate what she wanted to do for the afternoon, “My mom and I are going down to Wally-World to get school supplies, I will be back around 5” she replied. She left shortly after and I was left by myself in my room. Most of the girls had not arrived in my hall and most students were out with their parents. I decided to use the time to decorate my room. I pulled out my posters, tapestries, feather boas, and disco ball and began to make my room my own. When my roommate returned she was surprised to see my walls filled. She decided that she needed to catch up to me. By our third day our room was finished. You could see our different personalities and style come out in the halves of our room. The west side was filled with pinks, blues and blacks while the east side of the room was red, yellow, and beige.

-Coral Hackler
FLC Ambassador

Anonymous said...

My advice, be sure to leave Fido at home.

Anonymous said...

I remeber driving up to Cooper Hall last year thinking, great, now I have to unload everything. I estimated it would take about 7 trips to get everything unloaded.
After we got checked into our room it was time start unloading, which turned out to be my favorite part of moving in! There were a ton of people lined up to help my sister and I unload our vehicle. It was comforting to see that the faculty, staff, and varsity sports teams were so eager to help. It took 5 minutes max to get everything from our vehicle to our"new" room.
Thanks again to all who helped!

**Don't forget to pack your comfy pillow and blanket fom home and extra-long twin sheets for your bed.