Published: August 24, 2023

Move-in hustle, bustle

TEAGAN STAUDENMEIER/POST-GAZETTE
Liam Mur­phy, a se­nior, car­ries a rug from an ar­riv­ing stu­dent’s car at Fickes Hall at Chatham Univer­sity on Wed­nes­day.
TEAGAN STAUDENMEIER/POST-GAZETTE
A sea of purple as student volunteers walk over to help unload an arriving students car at Fickes Hall at Chatham University on Wednesday.
TEAGAN STAUDENMEIER/POST-GAZETTE
A sea of purple as student volunteers walk over to help unload an arriving students car at Fickes Hall at Chatham University on Wednesday.
TEAGAN STAUDENMEIER/POST-GAZETTE
Dana DePasquale, senior director of Alumni Engagement and Individual Giving, tells student volunteers where to carry an incoming student’s belongings outside Fickes Hall at Chatham University on Wednesday.
TEAGAN STAUDENMEIER/POST-GAZETTE
Anna Betar, a third-year stu­dent and ori­en­ta­tion leader, car­ries be­long­ings from an ar­riv­ing stu­dent’s car at Fickes Hall at Chatham Univer­sity on Wed­nes­day.
LUCY SCHALY/POST-GAZETTE
First-year students at the University of Pittsburgh are greeted by cheerleaders and students on their way into the Petersen Event Center for Convocation ceremonies on Wednesday.
LUCY SCHALY/POST-GAZETTE
Univer­sity of Pitts­burgh first-year stu­dents head into Peter­sen Events Center for a con­vo­ca­tion cer­e­mony on Wed­nes­day.
LUCY SCHALY/POST-GAZETTE
First-year stu­dents at the Univer­sity of Pitts­burgh are gath­ered in­side Peter­sen Events Center for a con­vo­ca­tion cer­e­mony on Wed­nes­day. The Oak­land cam­pus will en­roll more than 5,000 new un­der­grad­u­ate stu­dents this fall.
LUCY SCHALY/POST-GAZETTE
The University of Pittsburgh’s new chancellor, Joan Gabel, greets new students at the Petersen Event Center during Pitt’s convocation ceremony on Wednesday.
LUCY SCHALY/POST-GAZETTE
Cheerleaders and students greet first-year students on their way up the escalator and into the Petersen Events Center for the convocation ceremony at the University of Pittsburgh on Wednesday.

By Maddie Aiken
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Pittsburgh universities are vibrant once again as thousands of new and old faces descend upon campuses.

At Pitt, a sea of blue T-shirts filled Petersen Events Center during freshman convocation Wednesday morning. First-year students learned about Pitt’s values from Chancellor Joan Gabel, campus culture from student body leaders and gameday traditions from athletic department representatives.

“It was fun,” said Nina Sacco, an incoming freshman from the Philadelphia area. “I liked learning all of the traditions.”

Alma Harake, who attended the convocation with Ms. Sacco, agreed. Ms. Harake, from the Washington, D.C. area, said she chose Pitt in part because the Oakland campus is “really pretty.”

That campus will enroll over 5,000 new undergraduate students this fall after receiving a record number of first-year applications for the 2023-24 school year. Pitt students began moving in on Sunday and will continue until Saturday.

During her convocation speech, Ms. Gabel told students that she’s a “first-year” at Pitt, too. Ms. Gabel began her chancellorship in July.

“I might not be a freshman, but I am starting out in the same way that all of you are,” she said. “And in many ways my journey is just like yours. I had a campus visit. I liked what I saw… and I found… a warm sense of community. It felt like a small town and large, vibrant city all in the same place.”

Several minutes away, most freshmen at Chatham University moved onto the Shadyside campus on Wednesday. Purple shirts with the university’s name dotted Chatham’s quaint, hilly campus.

Incoming Chatham freshmen Marc Sirolli and Collin Beaman both said athletics and location played a role in their decision to attend Chatham. Mr. Sirolli and Mr. Beaman, from Delaware and New Jersey, respectively, will play lacrosse for the private university and love the Pittsburgh area.

Mr. Beaman, who plans to study exercise science, said he hopes to meet people and succeed in lacrosse during the upcoming school year. Mr. Sirolli, who’s studying graphic design, shared a similar goal.

“I want to really focus on lacrosse,” he said, “but I also want to come out knowing that I learned something about graphic design.”

Down the road, Carnegie Mellon University students are also making their way onto campus. Freshmen like Gemma Washington moved in on Saturday.

Ms. Washington, who plans to study music performance, said she’s “really nervous” to start the semester, but having family members in the Pittsburgh area makes the transition to college easier. Ms. Washington is from northern California.

She hopes to get involved in behind-the scenes stagework during her time at CMU.

“I want to learn behind-the-scenes stuff so I can have more possibilities,” Ms. Washington said.

Tarun Trivedi, a CMU senior, said it’s “bittersweet” to see the freshmen on campus because it reminds him of his own freshman year, which began during the coronavirus pandemic.

Mr. Trivedi, a mathematics major from New Jersey, said he’s excited to reconnect with friends during his last semester at CMU. He also hopes to get involved in research before he graduates.

“I’m just trying to soak it all in,” Mr. Trivedi said.

Pitt, Chatham and CMU students will all start classes on Monday.