Skip Navigation
MarylandToday

Produced by the Office of Marketing and Communications

Subscribe Now
Search
Campus & Community

An ‘M’phatic Welcome

Festivities, Fun, Freebies Greet Students Arriving for Fall Semester

By Maryland Today Staff

Students flow onto the field at SECU Stadium and make a giant M in a timelapse image

The Class of 2028 pours onto the field at SECU Stadium for the annual class “M” photo, taken Saturday at the B1G Show pep rally, one of dozens of events staged in recent days to welcome Terps back for the Fall 2024 semester.

Time-lapse image by Lancelot Lin

Squint, and Saturday afternoon on McKeldin Mall looked like a mini-Maryland Day: Tents. Games. Giveaways. Crowds. It had all the good vibes of the University of Maryland’s annual open house.

But zoom out from the scene to any residence hall, where families unloaded SUVs of suitcases and bulk boxes of Little Bites into giant bins that students rolled inside. Or to the Stamp’s Food Court, where an unusually large number of parents dined with their Terps. Or to nearby Targets, which enjoyed a rush of customers seeking forgotten power strips and jugs of Tide.

No, this was definitely the university’s Fall Welcome, and this year’s was a breeze—literally.

Kissed by sunny skies, mild temps and an occasional gust of cool wind, more than 11,600 residents, including 5,739 incoming new Terps, moved into on-campus housing from Thursday through Sunday in time for the semester’s start on Monday.

“I’m a little bit sad about being away from home, but I’m excited for this new experience, new environment, meeting new people, this new chapter in my life,” said Amira Mohamed, a freshman from Rockville, Md., who moved into Worcester Hall.

Dennis Passarella-George, director of resident life, noted that the incoming Class of 2028 didn’t have a traditional high school freshman year during the pandemic, so staff amped up the excitement for the new arrivals.

"Our Res Life team is thrilled to have the halls vibrant again with student energy,” he said. “It was great fun joining the thousands of Terps who participated in the Fall Welcome events too. These students are ready to start the new year being connected, engaged and involved in all the University of Maryland offers!"

At the New Student Welcome on Friday evening, Vice President for Student Affairs Patty Perillo cheered them as resilient, capable and smart and encouraged them to thrive on campus.

“Go to the Stamp or RecWell or to an Athletics event or a theater or musical event at the Clarice or join a student organization,” she said. “You can find your place—you just need to step in!”

And, over the next two days, they did. With the Mighty Sound of Maryland marching band rehearsing “Ain’t It Fun” by Paramore as their background music, students fanned across campus, many of them wearing their new residence hall T-shirts and keys on lanyards around their necks. They learned the fight song at the B1G Show, scooped up swag at FreeFest and cannonballed into the pool at the Outdoor Aquatic Center.

Allen Barnes, a sophomore transfer student from Washington, D.C., said on Friday that he’d be roaming the campus over the weekend to make sure he knew where his classes are.

“The University of Maryland is where I really wanted to be, so it’s a bit surreal to be here living on campus and starting class on Monday,” he said. “Everything is coming together. I’m really happy about it.”

Read on for a look at Welcome Weekend.
A freshman and his younger brother roll suitcases toward a residence hall on a sunny day

Starting Thursday, more than 11,000 students made campus their home away from home this academic year. That’s when Will Liang ’28, of Baltimore, Md., rolled into Johnson-Whittle Hall with an assist from his little brother, Kyle. (Photo by John T. Consoli)
six students holding welcome signs pose with mascot outside a residence hall

Terp Welcome Crew volunteers pose for a photo with Testudo during move-in in the North Hill Community on Friday. From left: Hannah Johnson '25, Aida Nyabingi '27, Drew Okoye '26, Fatou Lo '27, Temitayo Akinbiola '27 and Liz Ajayi '27. (Photo by Stephanie S. Cordle)
cheerleaders and marching band perform on top of wall outside a residence hall as parents and students observe

The University of Maryland Dance Team and Mighty Sound of Maryland marching band deliver an extra dose of energy to students and families during move-in outside Easton Hall on Thursday. (Photo by Dylan Singleton)
Female students pose in dorm room with mascot

Evie Mood '28, left, and Ava Gillule '28 take a break from setting up their room in Worcester Hall on Friday for a photo with UMD’s mascot. (Photo by Stephanie S. Cordle)
students in waders stand in lake pulling weeds

Science and Global Change program members Amzah Koroma ‘28 (left) and Shirley Chen ’28 pull invasive weeds Friday at Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens as a part of College Park Scholars’ Service Day. The Scholars tradition goes back more than 25 years and reflects the living-learning program’s commitment to service and the importance of community. (Photo by Dylan Singleton)
several students sit in a big empty parking lot painting a color mural on ground

Students in the College Park Scholars Arts program paint a parking lot mural outside Creative Suitland Arts Center in Suitland, Md., during Service Day; others helped beautify the area by picking up litter. (Photo by Riley N. Sims)
two female students joyously hug on basketball court

Nathalie Tan '28 (left) gets a hug from Alexys Esfandiari '28 after Tan was announced one of the winners of a basketball contest during New Student Welcome, held at Xfinity Center on Friday. Other events featured throughout the weekend included movie screenings, game nights, yoga, fitness programs and affinity group socials. (Photo by Stephanie S. Cordle)
three young women in red t shirts and black shorts pose with middle aged man in dark suit in front of giant mascot mural

From left, freshmen Delaney Miles, Sydney Emerson and Juliette Bragunier pose for a photo with UMD President Darryll J. Pines during New Student Welcome on Friday. (Photo by Stephanie S. Cordle)
young man in black bucket hat and pink shirt smiles as he holds giant spider and other students observe mirthfully

International student Harmen Siezen, center, who hails from Amsterdam, holds a tarantula on Saturday during FreeFest, an event on McKeldin Mall where students can get free swag and play games. (Photo by Riley N. Sims)
a rock band including a bassist and a lead singer in a birght orange shirtplays onstage under green lighting

New York-based pop rock band Laundry Day performs at the Moonlit Music Concert, presented by Student Entertainment Events at Nyumburu Amphitheater on Saturday. (Photo by Riley N. Sims)
A young woman paints a green cerarmic looking turtle

Ananya Garg ’28, an environmental science and policy major from Fairfield, Conn., decorates a turtle shell in Studio A in Stamp Student Union on Saturday. (Photo by Riley N. Sims)
seven smiling young people in a billiards hall pose for a selfie

Holding pool cues rather than a selfie stick, students smile for a picture at Terp Zone in Stamp Student Union on Saturday. From left: Julie-Anne Lynskey ’27, Kaylee Nehring ’28, Will Derrick ’27 (back), Lacie Hurst ’28 (front), Hunter Tippett ’27, Logan Matthews ’28 and Ann Sellers ’28. (Photo by Riley N. Sims)
a dance group dances upon a stage at stamp for a rapt audience

Dance team Afrochique strikes a pose during their performance at FreshCon, a welcome event for Black students, in the Stamp Student Union on Saturday. (Photo by Riley N. Sims)

Maryland Today is produced by the Office of Marketing and Communications for the University of Maryland community on weekdays during the academic year, except for university holidays.