Every year, like clockwork, new students and their parents arrive at the Babson campus in Wellesley, ready to move into their dorms, settle in with their roommates, and say goodbye to their parents.
And every year, says Ikay Ekeji MBA’25, assistant dorm director, move-in day is a little different.
“You never know exactly what to expect,” says Ekeji, who helps load and unload moving carts piled high with lamps, rolled-up carpets, pre-assembled furniture and full-length mirrors. In between packing and unpacking, Ekeji leads the new students to what will be their home for the next year. “The vibe was definitely different this year,” he says. “The students are more excited and a little more nervous.”
MORE FROM THE MOVE-IN: Read more and see more photos from the Class of 2028’s move-in.
As RA Supervisor, Ekeji will not only oversee all students living in Forest Hall, but also the building’s RAs.
“It’s a really rewarding experience because you see the students when they first come here and you get to see them grow throughout the year,” Ekeji says. It also means he gets his own room in Forest Hall, a three-story building next to Babson’s public safety building on the east end of campus.
“This is a whole new experience for them,” says Ekeji of the new students. “I can share it with them and help them as much as I can.”
Here’s a look at the emotional stories from move-in day as the Class of 2028 students and their families arrived on campus last week:
People look after each other
Babson’s close community spirit helps calm the nerves of Apurva Desai, who stands next to the family car with his daughter Akshara Desai (class of ’28) as the family waits for a cart to take Akashara to Forest Hall.
“Coming from India, we are considered a bit conservative. We like the fact that it’s a safe neighborhood where students feel very comfortable, and it’s a small school where everyone knows everyone,” says Apruva. ”That’s how it works in India. There’s an open-door policy and people look out for each other.”
Babson’s appeal goes beyond simple security for Apruva.
“We’ve heard nothing but wonderful things about Babson,” he says. “They really teach a child to stand on their own two feet and pave their own path.”
His daughter Akashara has already left her home in Mumbai once. She has been attending a boarding school in Chicago for two years. But she is still nervous.
“When I woke up this morning, I had butterflies in my stomach,” she says. “But I’m also excited.”
Another farewell
Samuel Puhachevsky (Class of ’28) arrives at his new room at Park Manor West before his roommate and has the privilege of choosing which bed he gets first. He takes the bed to the left of the window that faces College Drive. “I sleep on my left side and like to look out the window,” says Samuel, a resident of Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania. “I have a nice view.”
Samuel’s room is not only full of things that need to be unpacked, but also full of his entire family’s belongings: mother Irene, father Leon and sisters Abbie and Sophia. Samuel feels relaxed as he looks at the scene. His mother’s feelings, however, are more complicated. “I have very mixed feelings,” says Irene Gold. “I’m happy, but also sad.”
As she stands in her son’s room, she remembers another time and place, a similar moment of change and farewell. In 1999, when she was 21, Irene, her parents and her brother were preparing to leave Ukraine for the United States.
Irene remembers the days before her departure. She remembers the celebrations and farewells, how she got together with family and friends and how she felt surrounded by people who cared about her.
She also remembers driving to the airport and realizing they would soon be leaving everyone behind. “I still remember that feeling,” she says. “I wanted to hug myself.”
In her son’s room, she thinks about that time and how, although her family is all together now, soon there will be one less man. “This is it,” she says.
The time is ripe
Many parents find it difficult to describe the strong mixture of hope, fear, sadness and pride they feel on move-in day. Tawanna Johnson, who is helping her daughter Rebecca (28) move from Rhode Island, is not one of them.
“Oh, I’m at the end. I’m at the end,” Tawanna says with a short laugh. “I’ve been crying all the time. But I know she’s going to do well here.”
Tawanna folds some empty boxes as she helps Rebecca move into her double room on the second floor of Forest Hall.
Rebecca already has a close bond with her roommate Delfin Güllüoğlu (28), who took a nine-hour flight from Istanbul with her mother Selin to be here. For Delfin, Babson was an obvious choice.
“You may not know this, but Babson is really, really famous in Turkey. There are a lot of Turks here,” says Delfin, adding that several students from her high school also attend Babson.
Even though her daughter will be nearly 5,000 miles away, Selin believes it is time for Delfin to go her own way.
“I was 18 when I left home, so I think it’s going to be great for her,” Selin said. “She’s really excited and I’m happy for her.”
The box from Ikea
On the second floor of Park Manor West, father Brad Wellington stands in the hallway with a box from Ikea. “I’m trying to figure out where I can set this up,” he says.
The box isn’t too big and doesn’t contain too many parts, but the small dresser that comes inside still needs to be assembled. Wellington couldn’t put it together sooner because the dresser wouldn’t have fit in the car. “Hopefully I can put it together really quickly,” he says.
He opens the box and spreads out the instructions and the furniture on the floor outside his daughter’s room. He looks at everything in front of him, says “OK” and gets to work.
In the room, Maia Wellington (born 28) and her mother Shayna Wellington are almost finished unpacking after only about 20 minutes. Shayna attributes this speed to her strategy of packing Maia’s things in bags instead of boxes. “Moving in was easy,” she says. “Packing bags are the best solution.”
Maia was lucky enough to get a corner room with lots of natural light and windows overlooking the Park Manor Quad. When asked what she’s looking forward to at Babson, she can’t decide. Her life is now full of possibilities. “It’s all new,” says the Brooklyn, New York, resident. “There’s nothing I’m not looking forward to.”
A door opens
At Park Manor West, a small group gathers in front of room 320. When Amanda Andrade (class of ’28) puts the key in the lock of her room for the first time, her mother, wearing a “Babson Mom” T-shirt, films the moment.
The door is unlocked and opened, and Amanda’s parents and the student helpers who helped her move begin to clap. Amanda has officially arrived in her new home.
Amanda is from Sao Paulo. Her mother, Luciana Andrade, also studied abroad and she remembers the exciting years back then. But this moment feels completely different, being on the other side and watching her “baby” set off on new adventures. “I’m super proud and excited,” says Luciana. “This was her dream school.”
What attracted Amanda to Babson was the entrepreneurship program. She applied to the college early. “I like being creative,” she says. “I like solving problems. I like creating my own thing.”
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