Johns Hopkins welcomes hundreds of new students to Homewood campus

New Blue Jays who arrive at Johns Hopkins University's Homewood campus on Move-In Day have a short list of tasks:

1. Get here
2. Meet the resident assistant and any roommates or suitemates
3. Part from their families and unpack in time for the floor meeting in their hall

Although there is the excitement of the move-in crew cheering on first-years as their cars pull up to the residence hall, or receiving keys to students' own abodes, Move-In Day is perhaps the simplest of steps in the comprehensive journey on which more than 1,300 new Hopkins students are soon to embark.

"Moving to JHU really just felt like the logical next step in my life, especially because I've been dreaming about this school since middle school," said Kimberly Dong, an incoming first-year student.

Dong and her roommate, Ximena Calderon Arevalo, met for only the second time today and are from opposite ends of the country. Calderon Arevalo, who is from Southern California, will study political science and international studies; Dong, from upstate New York, is on a pre-med track with public health and bioethics majors. Although their hometowns and academic interests differ, they have quite a lot in common, including having applied early decision.

"It feels really surreal moving into the university, especially because it's so far from home," Calderon Arevalo said.

The Class of 2021 comprises students who come from as close as two miles from campus and from as far as more than 9,000 miles away. There are students from 35 states and Washington, D.C., as well as 33 countries.

Now, home is Baltimore.

"We are thrilled to welcome our newest Blue Jays," JHU President Ronald J. Daniels said. "The Class of 2021 embodies the bold curiosity and creativity of Johns Hopkins, and we cannot wait to see all they will bring—individually and as a class—to our university."

Image caption: Kimberly Dong (left) and Ximena Calderon Arevalo

Image credit: Taylor Jade Powell