Students return to UD campus for spring semester

11:45 a.m., Feb. 9, 2016--About 5,000 students returned to the University of Delaware residence halls Feb. 6-8. 

In the Caesar Rodney staff office, the first shift of resident assistants checked in the building’s returning students while checking up on their Winter Session activities. 

Campus Stories

From graduates, faculty

As it neared time for the processional to open the University of Delaware Commencement ceremonies, graduating students and faculty members shared their feelings about what the event means to them.

Doctoral hooding

It was a day of triumph, cheers and collective relief as more than 160 students from 21 nations participated in the University of Delaware's Doctoral Hooding Convocation held Friday morning on The Green.

• Doctoral hooding
• Old Swedes
• Summer SAT, ACT prep
• 'Opus 13' pre-sale

Andrew Casamento, a first-year accounting major from Kenilworth, New Jersey, is one of 300 students who are new to the University residence halls this spring. 

“I’m excited for all the clubs and organizations,” said Casamento, who decided to come to UD after a campus visit with a friend. “I came here and immediately, I had that feeling.”

Angela Martone, a first-year animal science major from Bear, Delaware, returned to her room from the fall, and was matched up with a new roommate, Emily St. Pierre.

St. Pierre, a marketing major from Long Island, decided to change rooms mid-year, despite not knowing Martone. 

Looking to her new roommate, Martone said, “She’s in a lot of the clubs I am and now I have somebody to go with.”

Alex Waad, a senior interpersonal communications major is the student engagement adviser for Caesar Rodney and the resident assistant for all three students.

Waad chose to decorate his floor with a Harry Potter theme for his final semester as a resident assistant, noting how the beloved stories transcend generations.

The theme has noticeably sparked conversation, a first step in students getting acquainted or reuniting.

A mother, walking through the hall with her son, agreed: “I love it.”

“In the first 24 to 48 hours that students are moving back on campus, I really hope they realize what it means to be part of the Blue Hen community,” Waad said.