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It was moving day at the University of Regina on Friday.
Current students, volunteers and staff members helped hundreds of new students as they moved their personal belongings into the dorms for what is the first time for most.
While it was an emotional day for some parents seeing their kids leave home for the first time, some students seemed thrilled to be getting out on their own.
“I’m not too nervous about moving out,” said Kieran Johnson, who was moving out for the first time. “I’m just looking forward to doing more stuff with computers.”
“I’m excited. I’ve never lived away from my hometown before,” added Azura Dobbins, who is moving to the U of R from Nipawin this fall to pursue a degree in creative technology.
Dobbins said she brought all of the essentials with her so she can feel as comfortable as possible.
“It took a long time to pack, but I’m set,” she said. “I’ve got a blender, a nice coffee machine and ice machine. It’s going to be a good life here.”
Dr. Jeff Keshen, the U of R’s president and vice-chancellor, said move-in day is meant to make the transition to school easier for the new students.
“We have a lot of things going on for campus this week to make students feel welcome. We wanted to get it started off in a real good way, so there’s a lot of people here from the U of R ambassadors to administration to me to welcome them,” he explained. “We want them to feel part of the university and this is what this day is about.”
Keshen noted because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the lack of in-person classes over the last three years, there are a lot of people stepping onto campus for the first time this weekend.
“Some of our third-year students are almost like first-year students for the fact some of them have never been in a physical classroom (on campus),” he said.
“COVID has really shaken up the terrain, but we’re hoping that starting things off in this way, we can try to normalize things as quickly as possible and make that university experience — as it was for so many of us — so special.”
Classes at the university are to begin on Wednesday.
It will also be the first time since the pandemic began that students won’t be required to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination or wear a mask while inside buildings.