LITTLE ROCK Ark.; (KTHV)-For many students, this is the last weekend before the school bell rings. UALR kicks off its fall semester Thursday, but today many students are packing their bags and moving on campus.
It's a busy day at UALR's campus. A record number of students moved into the university's residence halls. THV caught up with Natalie Swindle, a student who is getting ready to kick off the first year of their college career.
It's a new beginning for many students at UALR. Its move in weekend; one of the students making a dorm her new home is Natalie Swindle. "We drove up yesterday and stayed in a hotel and it started to hit me that I am actually coming here." Swindle is from Birmingham, Alabama and came to UALR to be a part of the swim team.
Her dad helped her move in, and has mixed emotions as she starts this new journey. "I'm kind of nervous, kind of sad because this is the end of an era but also the beginning of a new one."
The dorms aren't the only place filling up, Debbie Gentry, Executive director of housing says they also have apartments. "We bought another complex that has 420 beds and that's just across Asher Avenue our students that have been here for a couple of years are so are eligible to move into the apartments." Also new this year, the Trojan Grill. "It opened yesterday and it's specifically for students that live in housing."
Students like Swindle, who is looking forward to starting school and being on her own.
"I'm ready for new experiences and having to make choices and decisions that I wouldn't make if I was at my home." And the choices, her father says makes him proud. "I've been looking forward to this for a while, even though I know it was going to be difficult."
Natalie Swindle plans to major in nursing. Move in day will continue Sunday; they have about 1,100 students living on campus this year.