Move-In Day: Loyola Welcomes the Class of 2023

The excitement was palpable. Campus at Loyola University New Orleans was abuzz with excitement today, as hundreds of new students and parents arrived for Move-In Day and set up residence in the halls that, for the next year, they will call home.

“I had the opportunity to visit campus over Spring Break and I just fell in love with the community and how warm the people were,” said Maria Hernandez of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. “The staff just welcomed people with open arms - and that’s why I decided to come here.”

Hernandez, a first-year student and sociology major, is one of approximately 850 students making up the Class of 2023, the university’s most diverse class ever and one of the university’s largest classes in a decade. Hailing from 44 states and 22 countries, the Class of 2023 includes more than 50 percent students of color. More than 30 percent are the first in their families to go to college.

They join the university as President Tetlow wraps up her first-year as president with a balanced budget, new leadership cabinet, and nearly completed $100 million capital campaign.

Tetlow, the first woman and layperson to lead Loyola since the university’s founding in 1912, greeted new students and parents as they moved boxes and bags into Biever Hall and lined up in the Danna Student Center to get keys to their new rooms. 

Stephen Wood of Birmingham, Ala., is joining the university’s acclaimed Music Industry Studies program.
“My hope is to learn what I want to do specifically, how to be a better musician, how to market myself in new ways, in today’s culture.”

He first visited campus on encouragement from his father, who knew his love of music and New Orleans, and was impressed not only by the program, but its Environment program and commitment to service. The Wood family visits New Orleans several times a year as a family.

“He’s got a lot of interests, so Loyola seems like a good place to accommodate all his interests – music, performance, film and production,” said Peter Wood, Stephen’s father. “Being in New Orleans and a music city is great for him. It’s a great environment for what he wants to do.”

With a smile, he said: “Another reason Loyola was the perfect choice is the personal attention we were given throughout the application process.”