Hundreds of excited students carried, dragged and wheeled their belongings into the residence halls at CSU Monterey Bay on Aug. 24, the first day of the three-day move-in weekend.

By the time classes start on Aug. 27, the 2,800 students who live in residence halls on the main campus and in East Campus housing will be settled into the rooms and apartments that will be their home for the next year.

All the activity happened with the help of dozens of staff, faculty and students who had volunteered for the Otter Welcome Team. They directed traffic, answered questions, carried boxes and gave directions to the new students, most of whom had parents and siblings along to help.

President Eduardo Ochoa greeted students and their parents on the main quad for part of the day.

New students had a variety of reasons for choosing CSUMB, but several themes were apparent.

“I came because there’s a good program in my major, marine science,” said Carolyn Erickson. “And it’s a small school. It fit with what I was looking for.”

Erickson, who comes from Minnekonka, Minn., was amused by the response she’s gotten from her fellow students. “They’re saying to me, ‘You’re from MINNESOTA,’ like that’s a foreign country,” she said.

For Kyle Starling of Templeton, location was the attraction.

“I wanted to get away from home. CSUMB is not too far away – about six hours – but it’s not too close either. This is just right,” said the freshman who plans to major in biology.

Returning student Amelia Amador was eager to get to campus from her home in Merced. “It’s been 100 degrees there for the last two weeks, so I’m not complaining about the weather here,” she said. The sophomore is switching majors this year from biology to teledramatic arts and technology.

“I realized I’m more of a creative person than an analytical one,” she said.

The incoming class includes 885 freshmen and 643 new transfer students. Total enrollment is approximately 5,400.

Photos by Kevin Garcia Top: Family members help their student move into North Quad housing Bottom: President Eduardo Ochoa greets students on the campus quad