Amid the frenzy of Freshman Move-In at Homewood, we waylaid new arrivals to ask: What's your dearest possession? Caveat: No PCs or iPods, please...

By Sue De Pasquale
Photos by Mike Ciesielski

 
Samantha Schneider couldn't start college without her treasured Winnie the Pooh photo album filled with snapshots from her high school years in West Chester, Pennsylvania. One entire page holds close-up shots of her mouth — "before" and "after" braces.

 
Just hours after arriving from Singapore, Shengyong Ng looked more than a little jet-lagged. The biomedical engineering student says he'll definitely miss his native food, particularly nasi lemak (chicken rice). If homesickness strikes, he's got his postcards.

 

Swimmer Kyle Foust gamely displays his bike as a stand-in for his true prized possession. "I wouldn't let him bring his motorcycle," divulges his mom, Melissa Cherney. The Yamaha stayed safely stashed back home in Madison, Wisconsin.

 
Matt Carlson started his potted palm as a seedling and helped it flourish during his high school years at Loomis Chaffee in Connecticut. "It's been in my room forever," says Carlson, an intended econ major, who vows to keep his palm alive during his time at Hopkins.

 
"My grandpa gave me this hat a year ago," says biology student Nick Giuliano. He's rarely been seen without it since. As proof, the Sicilian-born snowboarding enthusiast points to his hat's warm mahogany patina and says, "It used to be black."

 
Hello Kitty arrived in Jane O'Conner's life when she was 10. Since then, Kitty's proven a faithful friend, accompanying O'Conner on trips abroad. Says the biology student, "I always handwash. I don't just throw her in the washing machine."

 
As a teenager, Sarah Ratzenberger turned to photography as a way of "documenting" her experiences in Hastings, New York. The international relations/econ student plans to keep shooting during college — in between playing on the volleyball team and minoring in French.

 
Wakil Ahmed was "famous" in high school for his math prowess, says his mom. So it came as no surprise when he asked for a T1-84 Plus Silver Edition calculator as a graduation gift. "I can even graph on it!" says Ahmed, who intends to major (surprise!) in applied math.

 
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