One week from today and the part of Morewood that runs between Forbes Avenueand Fifth Avenue will be scattered with students traipsing back and forth between their dormitories and Carnegie Mellon's main campus. These determined students will hurriedly walk the sidewalk, their minds focused on academics and extra-curricular activities. However, on this past Sunday, students strolled past Mudge House, New House, and MorewoodGardens, taking time to really notice their surroundings. Their concentration was far from academics, but rather on following Orientation schedules, deciding how they truly feel about their roommate and wondering how they will survive four years at one of the nation's top universities. 

Sunday was August 21^st, Carnegie Mellon's First-Year Move-In Day. 

In every nook of the University's campus, freshmen and their families unloaded bins and boxes from mini-vans, settled into their dorm rooms, poked around their future academic buildings, and received information from brightly t-shirted Orientation Counselors (OCs). The majority of these move-in day activities took place outdoors, and Carnegie Mellon couldn't have had better weather. Bathed in sunlight, the campus brightly welcomed students, who were more than content with the day's weather. 

"I'm glad it didn't rain... that would dampen my orientation experience," Bernard Balbot, a CFA student, joked. 

Although sunny weather aided students' arrivals to campus, there is another factor that greatly affects a first-year's impression of the upcoming year:  their roommate. Yet, the University does provide a way for incoming freshmen to choose their own roommates, if they so wish. Jerome Combes-Knoke and Tom Liu, both HSS students, tried this method.

"We met on MySpace and then requested each other. It worked out really well," Combes-Knoke stated after meeting Lui in person. 

From beautiful weather to energetic OCs, all aspects of Carnegie Mellon's First-Year Move-In Day made it a huge success. After an exhausting, but exciting, day of settling into their new home, first-years said goodbye to their families and headed to dorm floor meetings, where they met their Resident Assistants and floor mates. The first day for the Class of 2009 then came to a close, leaving freshmen feeling welcomed into the University and eager to carry on their Orientation week, which will continue until Saturday, August 27, following the theme of Orientation 2005:  "Send Me On My Way."

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Resident Assistants (RAs) and Community Assistants (CAs) work together to unload cars for new arrivals.	New students add personal touches to make their rooms feel like home. Claire Morgenstern, an HSS freshman, says she got this bee when she was a camp counselor. "One of my campers donated this. It was from her three year old sister's birthday party."
HSS first-year Lauren Feierstein, architecture first-year Julia Martini, and business first-year Liang Zhu wait for the next available elevator in Morewood E.	Members of Greek life enjoy lunch outside of Morewood Gardens.
CFA first-year Nick LeHane receives help moving into Hamerschlag. Freshmen received help across campus from Resident Assistants (RAs), Orientation Counselors (OCs), and members of Greek life.	New students register with the Orientation staff for upcoming events.
In the University Center, parents and students rest and prepare for more move-in fun.	Freshmen, such as Tepper-enrolled Ron Papa, order their first taste of campus food.
Carnegie Mellon's Christian Student Fellowship welcomes students and gives them information.	Students seek first-time internet help from the computing table.
OCs and HSS juniors Tara Sakauye and Richard Yao man the welcome table.	The newly formed Global Studies house is already a hit with students. Says resident and HSS freshman Maura Fitzgerald, "It's big, it's got a lot of common areas and stuff."
Pictured here with her sister, CFA freshman Alyssa Kuhns (left) says she's "interested in seeing where everyone's coming from" during Orientation week.	CIT freshman Nathaniel Zaharia works on his computer in Forbes House.

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