Boxes and tears filled the room in Teter Thompson on Wednesday. Friends and family laughed and talked while the girls steadily unpacked their belongings onto the dorm floor.
Nicole Jakubowicz, roommate Brittany Bellus and thousands of other freshmen flocked to dorms Wednesday to officially leave their old worlds behind and join their new IU families. The move-in process can be filled with excitement for freshmen and contrasting heartache for parents, but tends to leave both with a sense of wonderment.
“I am really excited about this year,” Jakubowicz said. “I already know my roommate, which makes it easier.”
Linda Jakubowicz did not want her daughter to go. She teased her daughter and begged her to stay home in Kokomo.
“This is my first kid going to college,” Linda Jakubowicz said. “I am going to cry all the way home.”
Jakubowicz lives only two hours from IU but does not plan on going home until Thanksgiving, much to her mother’s dismay and her own excitement.
Jakubowicz said she could not wait to meet new people and live away from her parents for the first time.
“I would like to do really good in school but have fun as well,” Bellus said.
Jakubowicz and Bellus have many goals while they are here at school. Jakubowicz wants to possibly pursue pre-med, while Bellus hopes to do something in the business field.
But classes aren’t the only thing on their minds. Jakubowicz and her roommate began discussing their worst fear: getting lost on campus.
While they worried away about their own fears, Linda Jakubowicz has a whole other list of fears.
“I trust her,” Linda Jakubowicz said. “She’s a good kid. I am just nervous for her being on her own.”
As Linda Jakubowicz attempted to untangle a new bike lock, she said her daughter had a double knee replacement when she was younger, but her knees hadn’t given her problems since then, so she can still walk and bike the long trek around campus.
“She’s a strong girl,” she said.
As parents like Linda Jakubowicz kissed their students goodbye, resident assistants and Residential Programs and Services employees worked to make the sterile dorms feel cozier.
While the freshmen and their families spent the day unpacking and settling in, the Teter residence team was working hard to make the move-in as smooth as possible and the living experience comfortable.
“I want to give Teter a more community feeling,” Teter President Michael Coleman said, passing out water bottles to already-tired freshmen. “The goal is to have a great year with good programs.”
Teter Manager Cedric Harris said move-in had gone relatively smoothly because about 1,000 students had already moved before Wednesday.
“My goal is every student that lives in Teter achieves excellence,” Harris said. Harris also explained that having fun is an important aspect in what he wishes most for students.
So as families say their teary goodbyes, Jakubowicz and freshmen like her are saying hello to classes, football games and, of course, the wonderful world of dorm life.
