Aug 31, 2023
Tracey Friedman
Aug 31, 2023
Campus and Community

Excitement. Nerves. Bittersweet feelings about leaving home and starting a new chapter. Multiple Target runs.

Lia and her mother getting out of the car greeted by a Welcome volunteer

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Move-In is an emotional day for students and families, from the time the car pulls up to the residence hall to the farewell hugs after everything is finally unpacked.

Lia's parents waiting in line with a bin

Lia and family getting into the Lipton Hall elevator

For an insider’s perspective on this day in the life of one first-year student, NYU News photographer Tracey Friedman embedded with Lia Bermudez as she settled in to her room in Lipton Hall on Saturday, August 26, assisted by her parents and her older sister, Sofia, a senior studying Media, Culture, and Communications at Steinhardt. Lia and her parents had traveled from their home in Puerto Rico to Sofia’s apartment in the East Village a few days earlier to prepare for the big move.

Lia sitting on a freshly made bed and smiling

Lia plans to major in chemistry on the pre-health track. These images tell the story of her very first day on that journey.

Lia and family on the sidewalk organizing belongings with move-in volunteers

duffel bag on a bed with city view through the window behind it

RA's door decorated with stickers

the family making the bed

silhouette of Lia looking out a window at the Empire State Building

Lia and her dad smiling

Lia using her phone as a level to hang pictures

Lia and her sister hanging pictures

Lia unpacking a suitcase

the family unpacking

Lia sitting on bed with a thoughtful look on her face

Lia and her parents holding hands and walking down a city street

Lia and her parents crossing the street to Irving Farm coffee shop

Lia's parents kissing her goodbye

Lia hugging her sister while her parents smile

smily face stickers on a rug by Lia's freshly made bed