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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; Megan Magoon looked at all the stuff she and her family had loaded into a cart to take to her new room and wondered why she brought it all.</p><p>Magoon, 18, of Barnegat, New Jersey, will major in marketing and play softball at Wilkes University for the next four years. She did point out a couple of items that had a lot of sentimental value and will make the transition to her new world that much easier.</p><p>&#8220;I brought my pillow,&#8221; Magoon said. &#8220;And this painting of the beach. I live near the beach, so when I look at this I will be reminded of home.&#8221;</p><p>Magoon is one of 632 members of the Wilkes Class of 2021 &#8212; 428 of which moved into their dorm rooms Friday during implementation of a very organized systematic plan. It&#8217;s the second largest class in Wilkes history. Upperclassmen will move in over the weekend.</p><p>This marks the 85th academic year for Wilkes, with classes set to begin Monday for the near 2,400 undergraduate students. It will be a busy week in Colonel land, as the university will open the Clayton and Theresa Karambelas Media and Communication Center and Sordoni Art Gallery at 141 S. Main St. A ribbon-cutting ceremony is scheduled for Thursday.</p><p>&#8220;We are so pleased to welcome the newest class to Wilkes University,&#8221; said President Patrick F. Leahy. &#8220;Our robust enrollment across all bachelor&#8217;s, master&#8217;s and doctoral programs, combined with the significant campus investments, reflects the next phase in our evolution from our founding as a junior college to a doctoral university.&#8221;</p><p>Ron Mascaritola of Dickson City was waiting at his car for his wife to return to help move their daughter, Kirsten, into her room at Evans Hall at River and East Northampton streets. Kirsten will enter the Wilkes pharmacy program, making her dad very proud.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s difficult to get in that program,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We&#8217;re excited and she is excited.&#8221;</p><p>This isn&#8217;t the first move-in for Mascaritola &#8212; he and his wife have been through the process with two older children. He said he and his wife will have a little more free time with an empty nest at home.</p><p>&#8220;We will have some more free time, I guess,&#8221; he said. &#8220;But not really &#8212; it never does stop.&#8221;</p><p>Melissa Howells, director of student development at Wilkes, coordinates &#8220;Welcome Weekend.&#8221; She was busy at the Henry Student Center on South Street &#8212; welcoming headquarters for the students.</p><p>&#8220;This is the main check-in place,&#8221; Howells said. &#8220;They get their key, their ID and their mailbox information and then it&#8217;s off to their assigned hall.&#8221;</p><p>Howells said most of the incoming freshmen are from Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York, but there are many students from outside that area, even as far away as California. Howells said the weather for the weekend move-in has been perfect, and she has heard zero complaints so far.</p><p>&#8220;Some students are worried if they have brought enough with them, others worry if they have the right type of refrigerator, stuff like that,&#8221; Howells said. &#8220;We also have a process for students to participate in that help match them with roommates who share the same likes and dislikes, keep the same hours, play athletics and who need special accommodations.&#8221;</p><p>At Friday&#8217;s First-Year Foundations Convocation for freshmen and transfer students, Leahy offered remarks.</p><p>&#8220;You have offered us both a great privilege and a great responsibility &#8212; to help advance your children, to educate them, to prepare them for an increasingly complex world,&#8221; Leahy said to parents. &#8220;We recognize the privilege, and take it very seriously. And, we accept the responsibility and will do everything we can to make this experience count for your son or daughter.&#8221;</p><p>Directing comments to students, Leahy said Wilkes will offer them all of the programs, activities, and opportunities of a large university in the caring, mentoring culture of a small college.</p><p>&#8220;There is no campus in the country that is more committed to student success than Wilkes, no campus anywhere that works harder to help you achieve beyond your own perceived potential,&#8221; Leahy said. &#8220;We at Wilkes believe talent is everywhere, and it is our duty as educators to help you find, develop it, and unleash it.&#8221;</p><p>The incoming class includes 40 international students and students from 14 states. The three most popular majors among first-year students are nursing, pharmacy and mechanical engineering.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Orientation leaders help students move in as fast as possible at Wilkes University on Friday morning. Aimee Dilger | Times Leader</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/web1_TTL082617Wilkes2.jpg</photo0><caption0>Orientation leaders help students move in as fast as possible at Wilkes University on Friday morning. Aimee Dilger | Times Leader</caption0><photoCredit0>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/web1_TTL082617Wilkes1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Katherine Shenot and Alexis Harford carry items into Evans Hall as Wilkes University students moved in for the fall semester Friday morning. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/web1_TTL082617Wilkes1.jpg</photo1><caption1>Katherine Shenot and Alexis Harford carry items into Evans Hall as Wilkes University students moved in for the fall semester Friday morning. </caption1><photoCredit1>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Bill O&#8217;Boyle</p><p>boboyle@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Bill O&#8217;Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Class of 2021 moves in at Wilkes University