As New Students Arrive, New Memories Form

Writer

Melissa Savignano

Melissa Savignano, a content marketing manager at Babson College, has worked in higher education for almost a decade, where she tells authentic, compelling campus and community stories. Before Babson, she managed communications for Boston University’s largest college, the College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences. She previously worked in client relations, helping brands of various sizes launch content marketing strategies and storytelling initiatives. When not at work, you will find her in the city of Boston, probably at the movie theater.

| August 25, 2023

Adorned in their Babson green, with their water bottles and iced coffee in hand, hundreds of current students assist Babson College’s newest members each year as they move in. It’s just the beginning for first-year students, but for many upperclassmen, it’s a full-circle moment, bringing waves of emotion and memories as they load up bins and greet families.

“They are walking in and asking, ‘What bed should I get?’ and I remember when I moved in, thinking ‘I need to get this bed.’ Moments like these are ingrained in your memory forever,” Devin Hanif ’25 says, standing next to a bin he’s using to help a student unload belongings. “It’s a brand-new memory for them. It’s a nice moment to be a part of.”

Hanif is working a move-in shift on the Park Manor Quad with his former first-year roommate, Malik Sullivan ’25, now a resident assistant. “I picked the bed first,” Hanif says about their move-in two years ago (and the right one, Sullivan adds).

They both speak about how welcoming recent graduate Curtis Johnson ’23 was when they moved in and how that helping hand set the tone for their Babson beginning. They hope to provide the same assurance.

“That experience is why I applied to be an RA. Making sure the students and families feel welcome is the part with the most impact,” Sullivan says. Both Hanif and Sullivan have come a long way since their first year together in Forest Hall. They have the know-how of seasoned veterans, and they even stop to banter with Lawrence P. Ward, the College’s vice president and dean of campus life, as he drives by on a golf cart.

“Moments like these are ingrained in your memory forever. It’s a brand-new memory for them. It’s a nice moment to be a part of.”
Devin Hanif ’25

Before students hit the residence halls to be welcomed by students like Hanif and Sullivan, they get a roaring hello from their own cheer squad working the front and back entrances of campus.

“It’s a busy but exciting day,” says Angelina Cho ’25, a peer mentor greeting cars at the Wellesley Avenue entrance. “We want to make sure students get all the resources they need and hopefully make friends.” Over the next few days, she and other peer mentors will guide students around campus and facilitate activities and team building. Their impact, both now and throughout the year, is an important part of the Class of 2027’s first Babson impression.

“I loved the people waving and holding the signs,” Cole Winstead ’27 says after he moved into his room and picked up his laptop and OneCard at the Len Green Recreation and Athletics Complex (LGBRAC). He and his family arrived in Massachusetts the day before after a nine-hour drive from Pittsburgh. “It’s surreal that I’m here. I don’t quite believe it’s real.”

His Babson memories are in the germination stages. By this time next year, maybe during a move-in shift, the memory will be in full bloom.