By Emily Kochanski
Despite the rainy weather and the chill in the air, students were happy to be returning to Saint Leo. Some were just setting foot on the campus for the first time. On Jan. 7, Saint Leo held a New Student Orientation for a new group of high school grads, transfer students, and international students.
By 9:00 a.m., the lobby of Kirk Hall was packed with incoming students from across the nation and around the world.
“We have a total spring start of about 100 students coming in,” said Michael Halligan, associate director of admissions.
Upon checking in, students and their families were given a schedule of events that they were invited to attend in order to learn about the different programs and benefits that Saint Leo has to offer. The morning kicked off with an orientation fair where students could get to know members of Resident Life, the Financial Aid Support Center, and their Success Coaches. The orientation was followed by a series of lectures directed at parents, commuters, transfer students, and international students, which concluded at 11:30 a.m. Many visitors braved the icy rain and followed a member of Resident Life on a brief tour of the campus.
“The first school that I looked at was this one,” said Nicholas Falco, a sports business major who hails from New York. “My main focus is my education; I’ve always had great pride in it. If I can make some new friends, that will be an added bonus.”
Like Falco, many of the new students came to Saint Leo from a great distance. Alberto Castagnara, an incoming international student, came all the way from Italy after being invited to play golf for the campus’ team. Castagnara’s mother, Loretta Peschiotto, could not be prouder.
“The education in the United States is very good, so many students want to come over here to get their education,” said Halligan. “Saint Leo is a great place because we are a very diverse campus. We have a really good program here for international students.”
By the end of the day, all incoming students were thrilled to have officially been welcomed as the newest members of the Saint Leo community
