The Year Starts Here: New Student Move In at Widener

Widener's newest students have arrived on campus – filling residence halls, unpacking belongings, meeting roommates and taking the first steps in their college journey. 

Over two days, Widener welcomed the class of 2030 with the help of student, faculty and staff volunteers. New residential students moved into halls across the Chester campus to prepare for the start of the fall semester on Aug. 24. 

Move-in days ended with a welcome barbecue complete with food, inflatable lawn games, ice cream and more as families said goodbye to their students. 

Meet the newest members of the Pride:

•    More than 880 incoming first-year students with over 750 living on campus 🏫

•    13 states represented including Tennessee, North Dakota, Maine and Florida 📍

•    11 countries represented including India, Guam, Japan, Nigeria and Netherlands 🌎

•    5 sets of twins 💙💛

The festivities continued throughout the week as new students became familiar with their new home through orientation sessions and the academic convocation ceremony. The ceremony is the new students’ official welcome into the academic community. Following that event, students walked through campus to the pride of lions statue where they sang Widener’s fight song. 

President Stacey Robertson addressed students at convocation and encouraged them to be present and take in all that their college experience has to offer. 

“Be present for this journey. Arrive in each moment – whether that is class, lab, study sessions, office hours with a faculty member, lunch with a new friend, or chitchat with Officer (Norman) Mitchell at the booth by Old Main. Arrive with openness and with curiosity,” said Robertson. “Be present for each other. These are your people. This is your class. Your journey is waiting for you.”