'Go Green' volunteers help families and students during first-year move-in

As families rolled into town this weekend with vehicles stuffed with suitcases and new college students, volunteers in green shirts waited to greet them with a helping hand.

Every year, hundreds of students volunteer as “Go Green” workers to help make the move-in process easier.

“It allows for students and families to immediately feel welcomed on campus, helps to make the move-in experience more efficient in terms of getting belongings unloaded from cars to rooms, and helps keep the traffic moving a little faster throughout the day, as families only have 30 minutes to park close to the buildings,” Jennifer Maskiell, the assistant director for planning and assessment, said in an email.

Maskiell said there were 935 registered student volunteers this year, but it was too early to confirm an official number of how many students actually participated and completed shifts.

Maskiell said she suspected the number would be anywhere from 650 to 750 student volunteers. More than 1,000 students registered to volunteer last year, according to a previous Post report.

Volunteers worked about four-and-a-half hours per day Thursday and Friday, when first-year students were moving in, and received $50 in Bobcat Cash for each shift. While Bobcat Cash serves as an incentive for volunteering, students said helping with the move-in process was rewarding in other ways.

“Everyone’s been really friendly, all the families are so nice and everyone is just kind of wondering how to get around,” Aiyana Wilkinson, a junior studying early childhood education, said. “We all went through it as freshmen. We know it’s scary coming to a big new university.

Ian Billig, a sophomore studying physics, said despite the strenuous nature of being a Go Green volunteer, he enjoyed connecting to the students and their parents.

“It’s hard work, but it’s nice meeting all the families and stuff,” Billig said. “You ache at the end of the day, but all around it’s not too bad.”

Eddy Belizaire, a sophomore studying exercise physiology, said moving items up numerous flights of stairs may have been the most challenging part of the experience. At one point he had to move a large trunk up four stories to a dorm room only to be locked out.

Sydney Dawes, a junior studying journalism, said it was “refreshing” to watch as parents prepared to say goodbye to their children.

“It’s really sweet to see the interactions between the kids and the parents because you can tell in a lot of situations the parents are getting really, really sad,” Dawes said.

@norajaara

nj342914@ohio.edu