Volunteers helped incoming freshmen move into their new Oak Hill dorms on Thursday. (Photos by Derik Holtman)

Hour after hour, the red carts repeated a familiar cycle on Thursday morning at Oak Hall, the 130,000-square foot residential hall on South Campus at the University of Missouri–St. Louis.

They entered the dorm, filled to the brim – sometimes way over the edge – with everything this year’s freshman students would need for their new UMSL home. They were empty as they exited the dorm, pushed along by volunteers heading back to the line of carts awaiting their turn to unpack. The loop repeated over and over, fueled by an endless supply of students, staff and faculty members on hand to help things move smoothly.

Yes, Thursday was Move-In Day at UMSL.

Louie the Triton stopped by to welcome new students and their families to Oak Hall.

Every incoming freshman was greeted near the door, just to the left of the check-in tables, by Elijah McCoy and his colleagues from the Office of Student Involvement. With the music playing and McCoy on the microphone, spirits were high all morning.

“Our job has to been to coordinate the volunteers, make sure the volunteers get here, and then outside of that, to promote what our office does and just keep the energy going for the students to be excited about moving in,” McCoy said with a smile. “I’m excited to be here to make sure the students are happy and having a great time. We’re here to have fun.”

Classes for the fall semester started on Monday.

The halls at Oak Hall were bustling with activity on Thursday.

For some incoming freshmen, like Iziah Purvey, the drive to UMSL’s campus was relatively quick. Purvey, a heralded newcomer to the men’s basketball team, played high school hoops at Webster Groves. A 6-foot-5 forward, he averaged 15.8 points and 9.4 rebounds his senior season.

At UMSL, he’ll rejoin Matt Enright, who led the Tritons in scoring last season and helped recruit Purvey. They were teammates on the 2021-22 Webster Groves team that won the Missouri Class 5 state championship.

Volunteers helped move students’ items from the car straight to their dorm rooms.

“Being able to play with someone I’ve played with for a while,” Purvey said with a grin, “it’s a good spot for me.”

Purvey said the person who will relax at the dorm might be a little different than the person people see in a game.

“I’m pretty chill, pretty laid-back,” Purvey said. “On the court, I take things pretty seriously. I look to win. I don’t like losing. Coming here, I’m looking to make a big impact my first year and having a good season with the team.”

Telisa Williams graduated high school this spring in Houston, Texas, but she grew up in St. Louis and arrived at Oak Hall with UMSL connections, too. Her mother, Myrina Otey, is an UMSL graduate. UMSL just seemed like the natural choice.

Volunteers and staff also helped keep the elevators operating efficiently.

“For one, it’s because of my family,” Williams said. “I missed home. And my mom came here, too, so I thought I could follow her trend.”

Williams admitted to being a little nervous on Move-In Day, but showed a resolve and determination when talking about pursuing nursing at UMSL.

“I want that so bad,” she said. “I won’t let anything get in my way.”

Adam Campbell and his mom, Stacy, made the eight-hour drive from their home in Ruston, Louisiana. How did someone from Ruston choose UMSL?

“I began my search looking for a school that had a good swim team, as well as a Japanese program, and this school had both, so it was perfect,” Campbell said. “I started learning Japanese around 10th grade, and I knew I wanted to pursue that. This school had business, Japanese and the swim team – a really good swim team – so it was an easy choice.”

Adam Campbell and his mom, Stacy, sort through Adam’s stuff after driving up from Louisiana.

This transition to college so far away from home was impactful on both Stacy and Adam.

“He’s my third child, but my first one to leave,” Stacy Campbell said. “The older two, and our youngest, are still around home. It’s an adjustment.”

Campbell has a clear career path in mind as he readies to start his UMSL journey.

“I want to work as a translator for business companies, either abroad or in the States, or a mixture of both,” Campbell said.