Last week, Georgetown welcomed the Class of 2030 as these new Hoyas start their undergraduate journeys.
The latest class of 1,650 Hoyas comes from 49 states, in addition to Washington, DC, and Puerto Rico, and also hails from 46 countries and includes 81 citizenships.
Over the last week, we celebrated first-year and transfer students at New Student Convocation and welcomed the Georgetown community back to campus as we started the new year.
Here are a few of our favorite moments from the first week back at Georgetown.
In residence halls across Georgetown, parents, siblings, grandparents and loved ones helped their Hoyas settle into their new homes. They also prepared to let their Hoyas start their own adventures.
All photos except the bottom right by Elman Studio.
For Caden Chock (C’30), a first-year in the College of Arts & Sciences, the last few months have been one of anticipation and emotion as he prepared to come to Georgetown.
“When I was picking colleges, I definitely wanted to pick one that had a defined campus and school spirit, as well as being by a big city. Georgetown fit a lot of that criteria,” he said.
While the Chock family is new to Georgetown, they’re no strangers to college move-ins. Caden Chock is one of three triplets leaving California to start college on the East Coast this semester. However, that didn’t make goodbyes any easier.
“I can’t even say [what I’ll miss most.] He’s my baby. He’s the youngest of the triplets, even though he’s so tall. So I feel anxious that the baby is leaving the nest,” said his mom, Amy Chock.
Caden Chock (C’30) with his parents, Amy and Carty Chock, during move-in.
When Angelina Zaiter (C’30) moved into Reynolds Hall last Thursday, her dad didn’t know how he’d feel about saying goodbye to his daughter.
“I’ll find out Sunday. We’re just unpacking right now, so we don’t even want to think about it,” her dad John Zaiter said.
While Angelina Zaiter, a first-year in the College of Arts & Sciences, will miss her dad, she knows he will never be far away.
“Just having someone to go to all the time in person,” she said. “Every single thing I need or worry about, I go straight to my parents, so having them far for the first time is going to be different, but thank God we have phones, trains and cars.”
Angelina Zaiter (C’30) with her dad, John Zaiter, moving into Reynolds Hall.
We saw new and familiar faces at the Capitol Campus
In downtown DC, we welcomed over 450 undergraduate and graduate students at 55 H St., Georgetown’s residence hall at the Capitol Campus.
Daniel Trelles, a junior in the Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies program in the School of Continuing Studies, is a seasoned tenant of Georgetown’s Capitol Campus and is excited to spend another year living at 55 H St.
“I really have everything near me,” he said. “I like the programs they do for student life: They give us game tickets, we take trips together, and they have events that help me feel a sense of community.”
Daniel Trelles, a junior in the Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies program in the School of Continuing Studies, with his mom during move-in at 55 H St.
Trelles said he wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. In his time left at Georgetown, Trelles is making every moment count and hopes other Hoyas do the same, no matter how far they are in their programs.
“There’s such an aura about living near the Capitol building and so many government buildings,” he said. “I really take in the breathtaking nature of that, seeing the people I walk by and wondering if they’re changing the world. More than anything, you feel so inspired living here.”
Students moving in to 55 H St., Georgetown’s residence hall on the Capitol Campus in downtown Washington, DC.
And showed our new president the ropes around move-in
In July, Georgetown welcomed Eduardo Peñalver as Georgetown’s 49th president. During move-in, he pitched in as new students dropped off their belongings in front of Healy Hall and met families at the President’s Move-in Lunch at Leo O’Donovan Hall.
Georgetown President Eduardo Peñalver greeting students and their families and helping them move in to campus. Photos by Elman Studio.
We officially welcomed the Class of 2030
On Copley Lawn, first-year students gathered for the first time as the Class of 2030 at New Student Convocation. The annual event marks the official start of students’ academic careers at Georgetown.
This year, students heard from Peñalver, who charged the Class of 2030 with fostering their curiosity and setting their “intellects on fire,” building on a phrase often attributed to St. Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Society of Jesus.
“To build that fire, you need fuel, a spark and lots and lots of air,” said Peñalver in his address. “Our goal, our job, is to help you kindle that flame, but it’s up to you to carry it with you, keeping it burning long after your time here at Georgetown is done, carefully tending to it and stoking it for the rest of your lives.”
Students also heard from Axel Hutapea (SFS’28), who urged Hoyas to let others help them and to recognize that they belong at Georgetown.
“Be brave enough to let someone see you unfinished. You do not have to be a certain kind of person from a certain kind of place with a certain kind of plan to belong on this lawn,” Hutapea said.
Axel Hutapea (SFS’28) gives his address at New Student Convocation.President Eduardo Peñalver at New Student Convocation.New Student Convocation marks the official start of the undergraduate journeys for first-year and transfer students.
And celebrated as one Georgetown community
We kicked off the new academic year with barbeques on both the Hilltop and Capitol Campuses. We also gathered in Gaston Hall to celebrate the Mass of the Holy Spirit as a Georgetown community.
(Top) Students at the barbecue at the Capitol Campus on Aug. 26. (Bottom) Students at the barbecue on Copley Lawn on Aug. 25.Georgetown celebrated the Mass of the Holy Spirit in Gaston Hall on Aug. 25.
