Student life begins in dorms at ‘Welcome Weekend’

MARQUETTE — It’s that time of year again, folks. Students are coming back to school.

ABC 10 / CW 5 went down to the dorms to give us an inside peek at Welcome Weekend at Northern Michigan University.

Move-in weekend is a busy time in the city of Marquette. Nearly three thousand students will be moving to town, between the residence halls and on-campus apartments.

This dorm room might look a little empty now, but soon there’s going to be two students moving in getting really excited for a brand new school year

“In the dorms we kind of pride ourselves on having a really close knit community and the community you build early on kind of transfers to the rest of the year. It becomes important to keep that community built the rest of the time you’re here,” said Jessie Robertson, the RA for Hogwarts House in Spalding Hall.
Northern has a great program to build community right off the bat.

Welcome Crew is composed of twelve students per hall who help incoming students move all their belongings into their new homes. But, they also help get everyone introduced and interacting.

“I went to a community college, so it was…not really getting out there, not learning anything new or meeting new people. I thought I’d help the freshman coming in and anybody that’s new to get to know the campus itself and the new people. To meet new friends and get new experiences out there,” said Krysten Keen, a member of Spalding Hall’s Welcome Crew.

But, new experiences and new friends are only half of the equation. Northern has a healthy appreciation for what these connections can do for students, inside the classroom.

“If they can get connected to one another, that hopefully will get them connected with activities they may not have pursued in high school or elsewhere. It also helps to get them connected with faculty. College isn’t just about going to the classroom and leaving the classroom. It’s about creating these relationships with other students and faculty, and faculty connection is so important especially when it comes down to that senior year and getting into grad school or landing a job, so we do our best to help them connect with others so they feel more comfortable connecting with faculty down the road,” said Assistant Director of Housing and Residence Life, Jeff Korpi.
Classes begin on Monday, August 24th.