As a new academic year begins, the largest incoming class in UConn history will have an experience that would have been as familiar to the Class of 1929 as to the Class of 2029: move-in.

Starting Thursday, Aug. 21, thousands of students and their families will be hauling boxes and unpacking belongings in Storrs, Stamford, and, for the first time, Hartford. All told, the incoming class at Storrs, Avery Point, Hartford, Stamford, and Waterbury will have roughly 6,500 members, the largest since the very first academic year began in September 1881.

One of the highlights of the experience is a formal Convocation ceremony for first-year students, scheduled for the night of Friday, Aug. 22, at the Student Union Mall. The Husky WOW (Week of Welcome) will continue throughout the weekend as the rest of UConn Nation moves in. The academic year officially begins with the start of classes on Monday, Aug. 25.

Amidst the buzz of activity, University Communications photographers were on hand to capture the excitement, as students and families carried belongings up flights of stairs, met people who will become lifelong friends, and started off on one of the great adventures of their lives.