SDSU welcomed new students to campus Friday, Aug. 18. As parents, siblings, guardians and first-year students packed up their vehicles and headed to Brookings, a handful of people were there to greet them.
“We had around 650 – staff, faculty, and students. We had a great year for faculty and staff volunteer turnout, and every person was needed,” said Rebecca Peterson, Director of Housing and Residential Life. “It made for an incredibly smooth day. The 650 includes the Community Assistants and Housing Residential Life staff too!”
Sophomore Corrie Erdahl was a part of the Meet State Team, who worked closely with Peterson during move-in day. “Overall, it went very smooth; there were many systems in place to make it easier,” said Erdahl. “We were all just happy to be helpful and wanted to make the day special for them!”
Erdahl was a first-year student in the fall of 2022, and she was excited to help the incoming first-year class, but also knew how intimidating it can be. “I talked to a few students, and most were anxious but excited for the change,” said Erdahl. “They were excited to set up their room and had been dreaming of this day for a long time, and they couldn’t believe it was finally here!”
The Meet State Team plays a huge role in helping new incoming first-year students on move-in day and before everyone gets to campus. Along with all of the Meet State’s social media platforms, they provide links to everything from what to bring, driving directions, schedules and more on SDState.edu.
First-year student Kiah Boetel, who moved into the newly renovated Pierson Hall, is on the Track and Field Team and thought the move-in process went well. “My move-in day was good! Everything went smoothly, and it was a very positive environment,” said Boetel. “I also felt welcomed walking into my dorm by all the Community Assistants.” Boetel also mentioned that she is most excited about football games this fall.
Throughout the day into the rest of the weekend, the Meet State Team helped move students in and planned events to get first-year students acclimated to campus and help them meet other first-year students. Festivities continued into Saturday as returning students moved back to campus. Last year, the second-year students made up the largest freshman class since 2017.
“Official enrollment numbers are released by the South Dakota Board of Regents the third week in September, but the university is encouraged by the strong freshman class and the number of returning students attending class this week,” said Mike Lockrem, Director of Marketing and Communication. “Overall, we anticipate strong enrollment numbers for this fall.”
With the anticipation of strong enrollment numbers, One Day for STATE, the first home football game and so much more to come, there is a positive outlook on the start of the year.
