For many students with parents by their sides for the big move, it can be hard to imagine a New Student Orientation free of a farewell hug. But for students receiving the 1789 Scholarship from the Georgetown Scholarship Program each year, this void can be a reality.
This year to fill that gap the Georgetown University Student Association teamed up with the Georgetown Scholarship Program. “Project Move-In” to help incoming students — whether returning, transfer or freshmen — become acclimated to campus life.
Though the 1789 Scholarship, (which funds the scholarships of all the students in the GSP and is fueled by the University’s 1789 Imperative) provides most of the cost of room and board while minimizing loans for over 400 students, GSP found that the majority of these students were traveling across the country alone due to plane ticket costs. In the past, students arrived at one of the area airports only to find themselves stranded with three jam-packed suitcases and a cab fare that was difficult to pay.
In years past, GSP has unofficially driven these students to their respective homes on campus and taken small groups to Target, but a few excited employees are limited without any formalized programming. Scholarships cover so much, but nothing of the massive incidental costs students encounter while moving in. Over the summer, GUSA President Mike Meaney (SFS ’12) reached out to the Local Alumni Club to help GSP find volunteers to drive students to campus and get them settled. The response was overwhelming: GSP actually had a surplus of alumni volunteers who wanted to help shuttle students to campus and make various trips to purchase dorm necessities. Several even offered up their homes to students who would otherwise be on campus over long weekends and Thankgiving.
“Project Move-In” is a prime example of a student body government that is serving its population of students. There is something profound about GUSA’s work to unite former Georgetown students with those just arriving in a way that reminds both parties why they chose the Hilltop as their home. The effort reminds the Georgetown community that once we are labeled a Hoya, we will always bleed blue and gray.
As an organization created by students for students, it is important GUSA must remember it roots and its constituency. The Georgetown community is vast, but that first look at John Carroll and Healy is new for everyone at some point — and oh so much more memorable when shared with a fellow Hoya.
