Franklin Pierce Welcomes New Ravens to Rindge
Aug 28, 2018
A convoy of family vehicles began lining up on University Avenue as early as 4:25 a.m. on Saturday, August 25, delivering the Class of 2022 and their belongings to the Rindge campus. First in line was Dena Kossakowski and her dad from Hamilton, New Jersey, with a carload of suitcases, dorm supplies and a fishing pole.
Promptly at 7:00 a.m., a traffic director waved the line of cars toward the dorms. Taylor Moscatel from Walpole, Mass emerged from under a pile of bags in the back seat, as volunteers greeted her car with broad smiles and move-in instructions.
Students and staff were waiting to help unload and check students into their rooms. President Kim Mooney ’83 greeted students and helped carry boxes, while Rocky the Raven, the Franklin Pierce mascot, was on hand for photo opps.
Inside the dorms, hallways teemed with students, family members and empty boxes as bedding, mini-fridges, posters, fans and plants transformed rooms into residences. Katrina Marquez from Chino Hills, California came to play softball for Franklin Pierce, and her mother was grateful for assistance from football team members in setting up furniture and hauling boxes.
Cody Roy from Leominster, Mass carried his two-year old sister on his shoulders while he checked out the bookstore and the orientation tent. He plans to pursue a sports media management major, and is excited to get to work with the new equipment in the Marlin Fitzwater Center for Communication. He’s an avid hiker and looks forward to the annual all-campus Grand Monadnock Climb in September.
One father waited outside the dorm where his son disappeared with a throng of helpers, reassured that his son was in good hands. His son had discovered Franklin Pierce late in his college search, and the last few months have been hectic as they adjusted plans. With the rush of preparations behind them, this proud father thought about how to spend the rest of this big day. “Maybe I’ll walk the dog,” he smiled.
A mother from Rhode Island was practical. “It won’t be too far away - still ‘tupperware distance’!”
After lunch, the new community of Ravens came together for Academic Convocation, where parents and students said their last good-byes, and heard reassurances and advice from Provost James W. Dumond, Jr. and their academic deans. President Mooney left parents and students with these thoughts:
“As a community of educators, we share an interest in your student that extends far beyond the classroom and academic performance. This is an extraordinary faculty sitting behind me - they understand and embrace the awesome responsibility not only to shape your students’ futures through their teaching, but also the futures of the people they will meet, the places they will work and the communities in which they will live. Your students are now Ravens. It’s that time….to watch them take flight!”
At the conclusion of the ceremony, peer leaders led students away in groups toward orientation activities planned to fill the two days before the first day of classes on August 27. Parents watched as a bagpiper led the faculty and staff recessional, then made their way to their emptied cars for the journey home.
And so the flight of the Class of 2022 begins...
View more photos from Move-In Day on Saturday, August 25, 2018
