Parents, Siblings, and New Students Come Together for Babson Move-In Day
Amid stacks of folded bedding, half-assembled furniture, and scattered water bottles in a first-floor residence hall room inside Park Manor North, Ronnie Chan P’29 took a break from unpacking to bond with Dolly Chahal P’29.
The two mothers had much in common. Both had driven nearly four hours to get an early start on Move-In Day. Both already had sent one child to college. And now, both had sons starting their first year as roommates at Babson College.
“He’s always wanted to run his own business, just like his father,” Chan said of her son, Kaiden Cheng ’29. A Long Island high school teacher suggested Babson to the venture-focused wrestler. “He looked it up online, and he immediately loved everything about it.”
New roommates Kaiden and Arsh Chahal ’29 both chose Babson because they believe entrepreneurship is key for their future.
“I’ve always dreamt of starting my own business, and there’s no better place to learn how to do that than here,” Chahal said. And, the flexibility of a Babson degree and the close-knit ties he can forge on the Wellesley campus were also a draw.
“I can use a Babson degree to get hired at plenty of great jobs in the corporate world. There are so many possibilities,” Chahal said.
A Campus Comes Alive
Thousands of parents, siblings, and loved ones swarmed Babson’s winding streets and pathways last week to help new students get settled in more than a dozen residence halls across the 370-acre campus.
The day brought its usual jumble of big feelings and random logistics. Frustration about a forgotten mattress cover dissipated amid the excitement of what’s to come for Ilinca Miclea ’29, for example, who arrived from Romania with her mother, Iulia.
“I’m very emotional, but I’m finally at peace,” Iulia said. Ilinca is her youngest child, and the friendly staff and safe community put her at ease despite the fact that she will be nearly 4,500 miles away. “I’m a mother, and I’m a foreigner. But I told my husband, ‘It’s safe here. The people are nice. I can go home. She will be good here.’ ”
Like many parents of first-year Babson students, Aaron and Ivonne Scranton P’29 were bursting with pride Thursday morning as they rolled their packed pickup truck toward check-in, eager to get their son, Oren Scranton ’29, settled into his residence hall on Move-In Day.
They had put on their Babson College sweatshirts early this morning, purchased shortly after Oren was accepted.
“We’re both entrepreneurs, and we know he wants to run his own business someday,” Aaron Scranton said. “Babson’s hands-on entrepreneurial leadership program is something that we both think very highly of.”
“We saw everything that Babson has to offer, we heard the success stories, and it just fit.”
Monserrat Serrano P’29
Coming from a finance-focused family, Oren Scranton compared several business schools to make sure the investment would set him up for success.
“One of the reasons I chose Babson is their return on investment, and the success that students achieve after getting their degree,” he said. “I think the connections I’ll make and the hands-on business experience will set me up for success in the future.”
A Place to Thrive
In addition to Babson’s prestigious reputation, Christopher Serrano ’29 said his first campus visit from his home in Chicago convinced him that the College’s ecosystem of innovation will continue to serve him long after he graduates.
“I was just stunned by how many like-minded people were in the community around me. I was absolutely starstruck,” Serrano, a first-generation student, said. “I decided, ‘That’s it. I’m turning down everything else. I’m coming here.’ I was just so inspired. I knew that this is where I want to thrive.”
Christopher’s mother, Monserrat Serrano P’29, had already installed a license plate frame touting her “Babson College Mom” status.
“We saw everything that Babson has to offer, we heard the success stories, and it just fit,” she said. “The people, the community, and the programs were perfect for him.”
Second-year student Alaina Hirani ’28 stood in Hollister parking lot helping her brother, Aarek Hirani ’29, sign in and get his room key. Their parents are home in India, so Alaina has been pressed into big-sister duty to help Aarek get acclimated.
“My sister was a huge influence when I was deciding, because of her experience during her first year,” Hirani said. “My parents also felt it would be nice to have two siblings at the same college.”
Despite her influence, Alaina wasn’t always sure she would go to college.
“I debated getting a degree, because business is something you learn on the go while you’re working,” Hirani said. “Ultimately, I decided that the network you’re getting here, and the experiential learning makes it a great investment.”
She looked over at her brother, who searched for paperwork inside one of his bags, and added that Babson provides a place to grow.
“It’s also a smoother transition into real life from high school, because once you finish high school, you’re a little lost,” Hirani said. “Babson kind of grounds you.”
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