KINGSTON, R.I. – Sept. 2, 2025 – One of the most exciting events of the academic year, fall move-in weekend welcomed thousands of first-year, transfer and returning students to the University of Rhode Island Kingston Campus.

Between Aug. 29 and Sept. 1, the University welcomed more than 3,300 first-year students – among about 5,500 students who will live in the campus’ 26 residence halls as part of 14 living and learning communities and another 700 students who will live in Greek Life houses and houses designated for their academic programs.

Amid a celebratory atmosphere, URI President Marc Parlange and Mary Parlange, Provost Barbara Wolfe and Vice President for Student Affairs Ellen Reynolds were among the first to greet students during the weekend. Meanwhile, an army of hundreds of faculty, staff and student volunteers provided the muscle to help first-year and transfer students get settled into their new homes. 

Sophomores Bella Procaccini, a public health major from Long Island, and Lucy Scafati, a public relations and communications major from Norwood, Massachusetts, were among the scores of volunteers lugging incoming students’ cherished belongings up flights of stairs at Bressler Hall. Both were recipients of the good deeds last year. This year, Procaccini and Scafati joined other members of the Kappa Delta sorority to lend a helping hand and sturdy back.

“As a freshman, everyone comes in nervous. It’s a lot of change. It’s a lot of new things,” said Procaccini, taking a water break after numerous trips up and down the Bressler stairs. “Also, it’s a good way for freshmen to meet people. I met a few people who were helping me move in last year and it just made me feel a lot more comfortable.”

“I think it’s just nice to be able to help,” Scafati said. “Last year, I had such a good experience with it. I barely touched any of my own belongings moving in. It just made everything go by a lot faster. It’s nice being able to help people and get things done fast.”

And first-year students who were moving in were thankful.

“It’s been really organized. It’s been a really easy process,” said Allie Traska, organizing her room with the help of her parents, Dan and Dawn, and her sister, Alyssa. “I think it literally took us six minutes to get everything in here from the truck. It was amazing.”

Traska, a resident of Coventry, Connecticut, who plans to major in biology, said she was attracted to URI by its science programs, along with a chance to go to a large college after attending an “extremely small” high school. The Presidential Scholarship she was awarded by URI didn’t hurt, she said. “Also, a girl from my hometown came here and she said she loved it and that it was really amazing.” 

For Ethan Stewart, who was feeling a bit overwhelmed as he got settled into his room in Hillside, the reasons that pointed him toward URI were many. The University is close enough to his Westport, Massachusetts, home, but not too close; the campus is a good size; the sports teams to follow and clubs to join are numerous. Also, an engineering major, he and his parents, Dana and Brad, found the Fascitelli Center for Advanced Engineering “spectacular.”

“The campus was really great when we visited,” Ethan said. “The classes offered a lot, too. The food when we visited was pretty good. And I felt that was a good selling point for me.”

“There is so much that this university offers in terms of activities, communication, and studies. That was another draw,” added Dana. “I feel the options for him are endless in coming here. And that part is a little overwhelming, but it’s also really great because he can find his place.”

Dylan Welch and Zachary Steen, friends from Sutton, Massachusetts – moving into their Hillside room with roommate Jackson Billman of Connecticut – were also attracted by URI’s engineering programs, along with both having relatives who attended URI.  “I knew about the engineering program,” said Welch. “But I’m also interested in the research side of things. I heard it was a good program.”

Elena Oliveira, of Warren, Rhode Island, followed a family tradition that led her to URI. Her mother and one of her sisters are URI graduates, and another sister will graduate next May with degrees in accounting and economics. (Her father, David, was the outlier; he went to Rhode Island College.)

“I did have another option but URI was more affordable, the perfect distance from home, and it has a very good engineering program,” said Oliveira, who will major in chemical engineering.

URI’s fall classes open Wednesday, Sept. 3, with more than 17,000 new and returning students. Among the welcoming events to start the semester are O-Week (Aug. 29-Sept. 5), which includes the new student welcome with President Parlange on Tuesday, Sept. 2, at 4:30 p.m. on the Quad.