Dorm Life 2026: Evan's Move In Day

Both boys start college classes today so we spent a good part of last week and this weekend getting them both settled at school. Evan's small pile easily fit in the car and we had the car packed by 8 am or so. 

 

His drop off was on Thursday and his assigned drop off time was 11 but he was getting bored and antsy and we had been told that while the assigned times were given for a reason they weren't set in stone so we left the house around 9:30 and got to the school around 10. 

The tent we needed to report to was pretty much emptied out by the time we parked, Evan went to get his key and ID card, and the two students that offered to help did everything for us. They emptied the whole back of the car into these giant laundry carts and were thrilled that I had labeled all of Evan's stuff with his dorm and room # so they knew right where to take us. (I forgot to take any photos at all until we were done unpacking as it was a whirlwind!) 

Once the car was emptied we were off and my husband had to go park our car a block or two away and get it out of the way. I don't even think it took us 10 minutes curbside. Since we were early Evan's roommate hadn't arrived yet but we just picked a bed, a desk, and a closet and got started unpacking. 

While Evan tackled putting his desktop computer back together I worked on getting his closet all set. It was HOT! Even with Evan's fan we were all a sweaty mess so he refused to be in any photos. When my husband met back up with us I had him make the bed and he offered to fill the mini fridge with some waters and get the ice cube trays filled as well. 

 In this set of dorms each student gets a closet (with a shelf, towel bar, and hooks inside), a set of built- in drawers, and a little cubby of shelves above that. We were even able to find some Youtube videos that gave dimensions of the cubby shelves so I bought some soft sided storage bins for his paper goods and snacks and things. 

 

It really didn't take us all that long to unpack so by the time his roommate and his parents showed up we were just about done. We talked to them for a few minutes and then offered to get out of their way. His roommate did tell us that there was an orientation itinerary on the website so I Googled that and found that they had us scheduled for things right up until 4 o'clock (and Evan's day was planned right up until 10 or so)! I had planned to leave around lunch so that was a surprise. 

Evan had to register at the event center, where they gave him a lanyard, assigned him into a group for the rest of the weekend orientation activities (though this group of no more than 20 students and the peer mentor assigned to them will meet up weekly for the entire first semester!). Peer mentors are there to answer any and all questions about Clark life and even will help with things like learning how to do laundry (something Evan already knows). It sounds like a neat program especially for those students that might hesitate to ask anything otherwise. 

 The campus looked so pretty with flags set all along the walks representing so many different countries. 

They had a BBQ Lunch on the quad for all the students and their families. There were 3 tents of food; one Kosher, one (that I think was) Vegan/Gluten free, and one larger one that we headed to with burgers, hot dogs, potato salad, tossed salad, chips, and a bunch of toppings for the burgers. There was another table with condiments and drinks and a whole dessert area too with assorted cookies and strawberry shortcake. 

We grabbed our food, found a seat under the shady trees and near the clock tower, and dug in. It must have been right around noontime and we were hungry. The food was really good and I hope this is an indication of how their dining hall will be since the same company that runs their dining hall catered the day. 
 

After eating we decided to head back to Evan's dorm and see if he could get his computer and laptop hooked up to the internet. He had a really tough time and had to call tech support twice but they finally got it going just as his roommate returned with his parents. We got to know them a bit and the mom asked if we could exchange information too just in case so we did that and agreed on who would be in charge of getting them a bigger fan or two (I offered since we are closer and it's a pretty straight/easy drive). They seem like a really sweet family and Evan said he thought they'd get along great. The boy is a gaming/video major and Evan recognized so many of the games this boy had on his computer as ones that Evan likes too so they have that in common at least. 

Then we set the boys off to explore the dorm and find the kitchen, the laundry room, etc. before we parted ways. We decided to find the bookstore and get my mother in law a sweatshirt-- she has one from all her grandkids high schools and colleges (which, clearly our family has not had a whole lot to contribute). 

By 2 we had to report to the gym for a presentation where we listened to various speeches in the very, very lovely air conditioning! 

I found this next photo on Clark's page; that's Evan's floral shirt shoulder in the corner.

 

Just before 3 they started calling students out of the building by group colors and numbers to meet their mentor and the other students in their group. Each group went somewhere on campus for some get to know you games and get any questions answered they might have had. Us parents had just over an hour to kill. We could stay in the air conditioning, tour campus, whatever we wanted until we'd meet back up with the students from 4-5 to say goodbye. We sat in the a/c for just a bit more then decided to head back to the bookstore. 

When we had been there earlier I had texted my mother in law asking questions about color, size, style etc. and we figured since we had time we'd go pick one up. We then went back to the quad and sat in the shade... it was a pretty long and boring wait. They did have lots of information tables set up covering everything from campus security to the dining plans, resident life, study abroad, financial aid, etc. but I felt we were well versed in all things Clark by this point. They did have one cute table where you could fill out a post card to mail to your student that they'd get their first week but I already had plans to mail Evan a card "just for fun." 

We saw Evan enter the quad just before 4 and since the student mail was right in front of us we stopped to pick up his schoolbooks he had ordered and shipped last week. Then we headed back to his dorm and said goodbye. He seemed so relaxed and at ease and that made me very relaxed and at ease. In fact he had mentioned that we probably could have left after lunch since there was nothing we had stayed for that was all that important (for us) to know. All in all it was a great drop off with zero tears or anxiety; what more could you ask for?