Pleasant weather conditions — warm or moderate
temperatures, friendly skies and not a drop of precipitation
— have typically been a staple of freshman Move-In
days.
Not this year.
On Friday morning, the gray sky erupted with rain, which fell
heavily at times on the freshmen, their family members and
the legions of volunteers on hand to greet the Class of 2012
and help them check into student housing.
Just before the skies opened, freshman Roberto Passaro from
Scarsdale, N.Y., stepped out of his parents' car to wait with
other students for the volunteers known as "walkers" to
escort them to locations where they would pick up residence
keys, J-cards and everything else that would make them
official Johns Hopkins students.
Passaro said he was both excited and somewhat apprehensive
about his upcoming academic journey and being away from home
for the first time. "I couldn't sleep at all last night," he
said. "But I'm very much looking forward to this. This is
what I wanted and where I want to be."
Nearby, greeters like Anne Griffioen, a sophomore public
health studies major, flashed big smiles as they stopped the
vehicles streaming in from University Parkway to welcome the
passengers to Johns Hopkins, exchange some friendly chitchat
and verify their check-in locations. Even drenched, Griffioen
did her best to offer a friendly welcome and keep the line
moving.
Move-In volunteers Marlena Kuhn,
Amanda Cardona and Seth Levine
Photo by Will Kirk / HIPS
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SUVs, minivans and cars began to file through the
university's north gate on Friday as early as 9 a.m. Parents
and guardians then drove to assigned points near the
undergraduate residence halls, where other groups of
volunteers, dressed in blue rain ponchos, feverishly unloaded
the students' belongings to get them safely indoors.
President Brody and his wife, Wendy, this year rode
zero-emission personal electric mobility vehicles by T3
Motion to meet and greet parents and the 1,238 students.
Funky modes of transportation on move-in days have long been
a Brody tradition. Past vehicles have included Segway
scooters, inline skates and folding bikes.
President Brody, who retires on Dec. 31, seemed to enjoy his
last move-in weekend. Weaving in and out of the caravan, he
often flashed the lights and sirens on his T3 vehicle,
adorned with a Johns Hopkins seal and security emblem.
President Brody wasn't the only one having fun. The
volunteers seemed to revel in the downpour as they did their
best to make light of the weather and make Day 1 a pleasant
one for the incoming class.
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