Hello, freshmen! UF’s annual move-in begins

A sea of cardboard boxes, storage bins and space refrigerators lined Museum Road on the Florida campus shortly before 9 a.m. Friday.

Move-in day for University of Florida students continued through the sweltering August heat. Parents helped their kids. Green-shirted volunteers answered questions. In the lobby of Graham Hall, University of Florida President Dr. Kent Fuchs welcomed students, as has been custom throughout his tenure.

For 17-year-old incoming freshman Alyssa Gagnon of Bradenton, the day represented an exciting new chapter in her young life. Gagnon is majoring in biological engineering at UF in hopes of applying for a pre-med program. Gagnon shuttled her belongings in and out of Hume Hall, her home away from home for the fall semester.

“My mom was a Gator so I kind of have had the orange and blue in my blood my whole life,” Gagnon said. “I came up here for a track meet and absolutely fell in love with the campus myself.”

As for new dorm items, Gagnon was most excited about her mini-fridge: “It is the largest mini-fridge that I’ve seen,” she said.

“From the beginning of the summer you thought it would never come, the time when you put everything in boxes and move,” Gagnon said. “I’m ready to spread my wings.”

Outside Graham Hall, 18-year-old Kevin Lewis of Orlando wheeled in his own fridge on a dolly, with help from his dad, Kevin Lewis Sr. An incoming freshman, Lewis is studying mechanical engineering with hopes of someday working at Google or Lockheed Martin.

“I’m excited,” Lewis said. “Only my parents have gone to college, second generation, but hearing the stories from other people, it’s very interesting and exciting to hear that you are part of such a great community of people. I like to hear that I’m a part of it and I’m excited just to start here and be a part of Gator Nation.”

Lewis to events.

“Basketball, football, maybe some of the weird ones like tennis,” Lewis said. “I do play tennis. Soccer maybe, because I’ve heard we have good athletics here.”

Back outside Hume, 18-year-old Tyler Metzger, an incoming freshman computer science major from Pembroke Pines, said his goal in coming to UF was to “make an app and get rich.” Jaeson Alcoriza, an 18-year-old incoming freshman from Miramar, had more modest goals.

“Honestly, just find more of a direction for myself because I’ve always just been knowing I want to be helping people somewhere in the health field, but I’m not sure exactly what I want to be doing,” Alcoriza said. “Be more independent, that kind of stuff.”

Helping others is a trait shared said he’s looking forward going to UF sporting by 18-year-old incoming freshman Haley Scites of Jacksonville. Before coming to UF, she went on a mission trip to Nicaragua, where she visited hospitals and churches and helped plan a church. As a result of her experience, Scites said she wants to pursue a career in international business.

“It was super cool to see the culture,” Scites said.

Scites packed her favorite instrument, her ukulele, for her dorm at Trusler Hall. “I learned to play this summer,” she said.

Music also is a passion for 18-year-old Sasha Haslem of Kissimmee, who’s studying animal science with hopes of becoming a veterinarian. In her spare time, Haslem enjoys playing the violin.

“I’m hoping to join the orchestra here,” Haslem said. “I hear it’s really good.”

Move-in day didn’t go as smoothly for senior Morgan McLaren, who returned to school to find the off-campus apartment she rented with friends off Williston Road infested with roaches. McLaren said her family had to rent a hotel room Thursday night because the apartment was uninhabitable.

“It’s just upsetting to spend $2,000 a month for an apartment infested with roaches,” McLaren said. “We opened the refrigerator and they came spilling out. They said there was an issue with the people who lived there over the summer being dirty and they tried their best to remove them, but they are still here.”