Move-in weekend underway for 10,000 at UCLA
One of Meg Micheletti’s biggest goals has just been realized. She’s a UCLA Bruin.
"This has always been her favorite school, so it’s a dream come true," said Kathleen Micheletti, Meg’s mom. Adds Meg: "It’s the whole package. It’s everything. It’s the location, it’s a good school. It’s just a happy place."
Micheletti was one of the first members of UCLA’s class of 2016 to move into residence on ‘The Hill.’ She and her parents, Kathleen and Andy, along with her brother, Nicolas, made the drive from San Diego and were on campus by 7:45 a.m. Friday, 15 minutes before UCLA's official move-in weekend began.
Within no time, Meg was moved in and she and her family were exploring campus.
"Everyone was really friendly and helpful, and willing to make it an easy process," said Meg, adding that she is excited to start classes and meet new people. "Not only new people, but people who are different from anyone who I’ve ever known before." Her mom, excited to see her start this new chapter in her life, has mixed emotions about her leaving the nest. "It’ll be hard because she’s my only girl, but she’ll text me." Mom is already planning to return to campus for Parents' Weekend, which runs Nov. 2-4.
From now until Sunday, roughly 10, 600 people, including 6,500 first-year and transfer students, will be moving into UCLA's residence halls. The stream of vehicles in and around DeNeve and Charles E. Young drives was thick this morning as UCLA traffic control officers and student volunteers managed the flow of cars, trucks and SUVs.
An operation like this required some thoughtful planning, said Rob Kadota, assistant director of residential life. "Once you cause a SigAlert or two on the 405, you figure out how to do it," says Kadota, who has been involved with move-in weekend for 22 years. "As we’ve grown, we needed to structure it a little bit."
It has since become a finely oiled process, involving appointments, move in passes and lots and lots of blue and gold laundry carts that are filled with students’ possessions and unloaded in their rooms. Usually two or three carts will do the job, said Kadota, noting that each vehicle is parked, unloaded and moved to long-term parking in 15 to 30 minutes.
None of this would be possible without the more than 1,000 students, including residence assistants, move-in assistants and student leaders, who assist along with Housing staff and a moving company hired to transport people and belongings.
"The magic of the move-in team, the cheering on of parents and students as they walk through the doors, the eight-claps and the professional staff stopping anyone who looks remotely confused all make for a very welcoming experience," Kadota said.
Large-scale programming for new students has already begun. True Bruin Welcome, which runs until Oct. 5, features myriad activities to help students transition to life at UCLA. Classes begin Sept. 27.
