Ohio State University scholars start returning to campus residence halls

As the start of the 2023-24 academic year approaches, first- and second-year students have begun moving into residence halls at The Ohio State University’s Columbus and regional campuses. By the time Move-In is completed Saturday evening, more than 14,000 students will be living in Columbus campus residence halls, according to Ohio State’s Office of Student Life.

Monica Daniels said she and her husband, Mike, experienced déjà vu while moving their daughter Sydney Johnson, a freshman who plans to major in exercise science, into Smith-Steeb Hall on Wednesday.

“We’re just really blessed and fortunate that our daughter can be here. This is our second child at Ohio State,” Monica Daniels said. “Our son just graduated in December, so we had a few months and now we’re back at it again.”

Dante Ciulli, a sophomore majoring in industrial systems engineering, said the move into Smith-Steeb Hall was as uneventful as it was at the start of his freshman year. Oversize carts provided by the Office of Student Life streamlined the process of transporting students’ belongings to their rooms, Ciulli said.

“With the carts, it makes it easy,” he said.

Dante’s parents, Nick and Andrea Ciulli, said they noticed that the flow of families helping students get settled was steady but manageable.

“We got in the elevator. We got in, we got out,” Andrea Ciulli said.

Assisting with move-in logistics were Ohio State student volunteers from the 614 College team, who were assembled by the Columbus-based 614 Church.

“I think it’s important when people come to school, they’re greeted with a smiling face. There’s a lot of emotions that go into moving in,” said Audrey Wilkens, a senior majoring in education. “If I need to be here just to tell people that they have value and they belong, that’s what I want to do.”

Wilkens said her participation in the 614 College team was simply paying forward the support she received as a freshman when she first moved into a residence hall on the Columbus campus.

“It was super-helpful, seeing people,” she said. “My housemates helped me move in. It was really special.”