Creighton University is celebrating a milestone this year as they welcome approximately 1,250 freshmen to campus – the largest freshman class in the university's history.
Watch Hannah's story:
Volunteers cheered and danced as they helped new Blue Jays move into their campus residence halls.
Freshman Ethan Reed, is in exercise science. His older sister also attends Creighton.
"I'd say I'm very impressed," Ethan said.
During a tour of his residence hall, Ethan proudly showed off his personal touches to the space.
"These are all different photos from my childhood, recent, it's, um, here's a couple of my graduation photos," Ethan said.
For parents like Chantelle and Sean Brennan, who drove 5 hours from Wichita with their two Creighton students, the move-in process went smoothly, but saying goodbye wasn't easy.
"It's kind of been building. She's been packing all of her stuff and collecting all this stuff and I think she's ready," Chantelle Brennan said.
"It's gonna get emotional when we give her the hug goodbye," Sean Brennan said.
To accommodate the record-breaking class, the university made some adjustments to the move-in process.
"We added a little bit more time, but the folks in our new student orientation team are so organized and efficient and lots of volunteers to help get this going," said Sarah Richardson, Vice Provost for enrollment at Creighton.
Richardson explained that the university has been focusing on student care, investing in infrastructure and adding more scholarships as part of a multi-million dollar campaign.
The support system at Creighton has motivated students like sophomore Shalom Manyara to volunteer during move-in day.
"Everyone you see here, it's a group of sophomores and juniors. We have about 175 PLGs, which is peer leaders and guides," Manyara said.
Manyara emphasized that Creighton offers something for everyone.
"No matter what you're interested in there is something for you," Manyara said.
The enthusiasm on campus was palpable as the new academic year begins.
"It absolutely is great to be a blue jay. There's so many positive things happening whether it be the facilities, the recognition of our athletics teams, the success that we're seeing with enrollments," Richardson said.
The university plans to continue its growth with new developments, including a sophomore residence hall scheduled to open next school year.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
