University of Delaware students make their way to class on Tuesday, Aug. 30, officially kicking off the 2022-2023 academic year.

First day of classes

Article by Amy Wolf Photos by Kathy F. Atkinson and Evan Krape August 30, 2022

UD students share excitement for new academic year

It’s generally not a good idea to sleep through class — even if it’s at 8 a.m. That is, unless you’re a dog, in which case the professor might just let you snooze.

“He’s so excited to be back on campus. It's like he never left for the summer,” said Samantha Gildenberg, a junior sports health major who brought Quimby, a seeing eye dog in training, to her 8 a.m. biomechanics class on Tuesday, Aug. 30, the first day of the 2022-2023 academic year at the University of Delaware.

Quimby, a seeing eye dog in training, slept through his 8 a.m. biomechanics class. His puppy raiser, junior sports health major Samantha Gildenberg, says the dog boosts morale in an early morning class.

Quimby, a seeing eye dog in training, slept in and through his 8 a.m. biomechanics class. His puppy raiser, junior sports health major Samantha Gildenberg, says the dog boosts morale in an early morning class.

As a member of Puppy Raisers of the University of Delaware (PROUD), a Registered Student Organization at UD, Gildenberg’s role is to expose Quimby to a variety of social situations in order to prepare him for his future job as a guide dog. A college campus is the perfect place to do just that.

“He greets people at the beginning and end of class, but he naps through class and doesn’t usually disturb anyone,” Gildenberg said. “Sometimes he'll sigh and everyone laughs, so it kind of boosts morale, especially in an 8 a.m. class.”

Georgios Melissourgos, a first-year pharmaceutical sciences major, checks his schedule in between classes.

Quimby wasn’t the only one excited for the start of the fall semester. Georgios Melissourgos, a first-year student from Bear, Delaware, said he wasn’t nervous at all — just excited — for the first day of classes. So excited that he arrived at Wolf Hall more than 30 minutes before his second class of the day began.

“My first class was great, and I’m just really excited to meet new people and have new experiences,” said Melissourgos, a pharmaceutical sciences major. “I’m not really nervous at all. I just want to study, get good grades and just have fun.”

“I just want to be prepared,” said Maggie Jorczak, a first-year biology major. “The first semester is pretty much like a baseline for the rest of your years here, so hopefully I have a good start and it'll be smooth sailing.”

Maggie Jorczak, a first-year student from New Hampshire, said she needed to be prepared for the first day. The night before, she went through all her emails, wrote down her schedule, and posted sticky notes all over her desk. She also went on a guided tour so she knew where she was going on the first day, but she said she’ll still be using maps for at least the first week of classes.

“It’s nerve-wracking,” said Jorczak, a biology major. “It’s a big change. You don't really know what to expect, and it all affects my future, so it feels big. I just want to be prepared. The first semester is pretty much like a baseline for the rest of your years here, so hopefully I have a good start and it'll be smooth sailing.”

Sanai Corbin, a sophomore health behavior science major who commutes to campus from Wilmington, plans to make the most of the fall semester by staying organized and connecting with her professors.

“I’m ready to get into the swing of things,” she said. “I wrote out my whole schedule last night, and now I have to figure out how to structure my day so I can get stuff done on time and done properly and not procrastinate or slack.”

As a member of the men’s lacrosse team at UD, Nick Krug says he has to make sure his days are structured so he can fit everything in and get his work done.

Nick Krug, a junior electrical engineering major from New York, said he has his routine down pat. As a member of the men’s lacrosse team at UD, he has to make sure his days are structured so he can fit everything in and get his work done. He hopes to do well in his classes this year so he can get an internship next summer. As he waited outside Brown Lab before the start of his second class of the day, he offered some advice for new students.

“Try to pay attention in class as much as you can, and put your phone away,” he said. “Definitely try to make as many friends in class as you can so that you can help each other study. That’ll set you up for success.”