Thursday was a big day for Addison Daliege of Cross Plains, Texas, who was getting settled into her dorm during move-in day for freshmen and transfer students at Aurora University.
“I found out about this school after being contacted by the basketball coach here, and I’m going to play,” Daliege said as she and her parents loaded boxes into a cart as part of the move-in process. “I’m planning to major in animal science and becoming a vet. As far as how I’m feeling – I’m pretty excited.”
Move-in day is a rite of passage at colleges and universities all over the country, including at Aurora University. Ellie Mikolajczak, area hall director at the university, said she was happy to welcome in a new batch of Spartans.
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“I feel like every time that students have been moving in they have all been excited,” she said. “Of course, it’s an overwhelming time but all of the students have been coming in with such joy and so have the (resident assistants) who have all been so great so far.”
The day before move-in, Deborah Maue, senior vice president for strategic enrollment management and marketing at Aurora University, said the school was set to welcome close to 1,200 new and transfer students.
“Total enrollment looks like it’s going to be over 6,000 students,” she said. “In terms of the geographic distribution, we have 24 states represented among the freshman class. A total of 88% of the freshmen students are from Illinois, and 29 counties in the state are represented. We also have 22 new international students from 14 countries.”
Maue said over the past half-decade, enrollment “has been pretty steady.”
“We hear that students came to campus, saw how beautiful it is and felt that they were at home and everyone they met went out of their way to figure out how to help and get them what they needed,” she said. “We’ve heard that people here are intensely focused on our students and meeting them where they are and understanding what each student needs.”
Maue said that “students are increasingly interested in outcomes” when choosing a school.
“They want to know they are going to come to AU and when they leave, they’re going to be able to get a job, and we pride ourselves on our placement rates and helping students get jobs,” she said. “Nursing is our largest major because there are so many jobs, as well as education and social work with a high demand for each. Business continues to be a big draw as well.”
The impact of athletics also continues to be a major draw at AU, with Maue noting that “about one-third of our new students” are athletes, adding that the university offers 26 different sports.
Student-athletes seemed to be were everywhere on Thursday during move-in day, including Kayla Dogs from Sheboygan, Wisconsin, who said she was recruited to play hockey, “something I have been playing since I was 3.”
“I’ve very excited to play against teams from around the country and I’m ready to compete at a higher level,” she said. “As far as a major, I want to look into criminal justice and law enforcement. I’d like to be a policewoman. It’s kind of what I wanted to do since I was young.”
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Noah Hensley of Elburn said he planned to play baseball at the university and is hoping to major in business administration.
“As far as preparing for this separation (from home), I think my parents prepared me more than I’ve been preparing them,” he said. “I feel good today as far as being local and knowing a lot of people in the area, but I’m a little anxious about my roommates. I’ve only met one of them, but I’ve got one more. I think communication is going to be important in terms of roommate happiness, and being on the same page.”
David Sharos is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.