(Un)pack it up, pack it in
September 07, 2018 | General News, Women's Rowing, Badgers Give Back, Varsity Magazine
Student-athletes welcome freshmen and their families to campus
MADISON, Wis. — Everyone remembers their first day of college. Driving up to a dorm, saying goodbye to their parents and having to navigate new living quarters, essentially in a 4x4 box, with a stranger.
For freshmen at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, move-in day included a little extra surprise. Awaiting their arrival were the friendly faces of UW student-athletes, ready to greet them with a warm welcome. Stationed at Witte Residence Hall, student-athletes unloaded cars of the newest crop of Badgers and helped bring their belongings up to the recently renovated dorm.
"Sports are such a big part of the Wisconsin experience, and having student-athletes help freshmen move into the dorms was a great way to introduce new students to campus," said Jackie Davenport, the Wisconsin Athletics director of community relations.
"It's a small way to bring together the student-athlete community with the broader campus community."
For Michael, a freshman from Rochester, Minnesota, Wisconsin was a brand new state. As the oldest, he was leaving behind his family but was looking forward to the chance to begin a new chapter. He doesn't know exactly what his future at UW will hold, but he is open to discovering the possibilities.
"Right now, I want to go into biomedical engineering," he said. "But we'll see how I feel after taking chemistry and calculus this semester."
Michael's younger sister is entering her senior year of high school. What's her top school?
Wisconsin.
"Hopefully I'll be following him to school next year," said Michael's sister excitedly. "Seeing the student-athletes' enthusiasm has made me even more excited to potentially be a Badger, too."
UW student-athletes Marissa Schaefer (Spirit Squad), Blake Buege (Spirit Squad), and Leah Lustig (Women's Rowing) pose with a freshman from San Francisco! She's most excited for the cheese curds.
The anticipation of moving away from home and starting class was buzzing throughout the dorm.
Student-athletes shared advice to the incoming freshmen and everyone echoed the same sentiments; be open to change, embrace every opportunity, make sure to study hard and lastly, have fun. These will be some of the best years of your life and remember to just enjoy it.
For more information on Badgers Give Back, visit www.uwbadgers.com/BadgersGiveBack.
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Main Photo: UW student-athletes Molly O'Boyle (Spirit Squad), Blake Buege (Spirit Squad) and Leah Lustig (Women's Rowing) loaded up two full carts for this freshman and his family.
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