Move-In Week kicks off the college experience for many Roadrunners

AUGUST 7, 2023 — Next week, thousands of new and returning Roadrunners will arrive on campus to move into their new nests during UTSA Move-In Week. All on-campus housing properties are at full capacity, housing roughly 3,300 students in UTSA-owned properties Alvarez Hall, Chisholm Hall, Guadalupe Hall, Chaparral Village and Laurel Village. An additional 1,300 students will be moving into University Oaks, an on-campus community managed by third-party company Campus Living Villages. Most are first-year students who are living away from home for the first time.

On average, students who live on campus their first year perform better academically and feel a greater sense of belonging earlier on in their college journey. In addition, living on campus makes it easier to make friends, get involved in student organizations, attend events, and take advantage of the many academic support services on campus like tutoring, academic coaching and study sessions.

Over the summer, UTSA Housing and Residence Life doubled its staff to better serve its resident population. Part of the expansion included the creation of a new Residential Success Initiatives team, which will focus on residential engagement, belonging and development programming, as well as supporting the Special Interest Housing groups.

“Our team of student housing professionals work extremely hard to make the on-campus experience a positive experience for all our residents.”

“Our team of student housing professionals work extremely hard to make the on-campus experience a positive experience for all our residents,” said Daniel Gockley, executive director of UTSA Housing and Residence Life. “Nearly all of our professional staff have years of experience working in various housing roles and universities which allows us to keep our focus on the well-being, safety and academic success of our students.”

UTSA Housing and Residence Life employs over 100 students, the majority of which are resident assistants (RAs). Across UTSA’s five properties, 85 RAs live on the floors with their residents and are responsible for developing a welcoming and comfortable living environment that is conducive to residents’ academic success and personal growth. Three part-time graduate complex coordinators also live on campus and support the three full-time live-in complex coordinators who work together to oversee and support the RAs.

Other student positions include student assistants, who work at the front desk; complex assistants, who train, support and set the schedule for the front desk student assistants; and marketing liaisons, who lead housing tours and help promote events and activities for residents. All positions allow students to build marketable skills employers seek, such as strong communication, organization, leadership, collaboration, responsiveness and team building.

In addition to being paid to live on campus, being an RA helps students build their leadership capacity and understand what it takes to create community and support others. All RAs participate in a weeklong training session before each school year that covers topics such as incident response, bystander intervention, restorative justice, wellbeing services, fire safety and student engagement strategies.

“Being a Resident Assistant helped me grow, not only as a professional but as a person,” said Marlon Millan, who is pursuing a master’s degree in accounting. “The skills that I have obtained are interchangeable in many paths of life, and just that overall feeling of being able to help people with their journey here at UTSA is something you really can't get anywhere else.”

Move-In Week takes place August 14-18, immediately preceding Roadrunner Days, which will run August 19 to September 2. The celebration features a full line-up of events, seminars and socials that will help students develop a sense of belonging at the university, encourage them to meet new people and introduce them to university resources that will help them succeed on campus and in the classroom.

To help the move-in experience go smoothly, UTSA Housing and Residence Life asks that all students and families enter campus at Brackenridge Ave. Lot 5, off UTSA Blvd. and Babcock Rd. at the southwest corner of campus. From there, they will be given temporary unloading permits and further direction to where they need to go. At the unloading lots near the residence halls, volunteers from the UTSA community will be waiting to help students move their possessions into their new homes.

The UTSA campus community is advised to avoid the north side of the Main Campus along Tobin Ave. between Barshop Blvd. and Brenan Ave. during Move-In Week. Beginning August 10, Resident Lots 1, 2 and 3 will close through August 18 to accommodate resident unloading. Parking will be available in Resident Lots 4 and 5 and any commuter spaces.

— KC Gonzalez