Hey everyone, long time, no blog:).…I know, I know you were probably wondering what happend to me, well not to worry I’m back and ready to blog away! What a busy summer it has been for me, as I’m sure it has been the same for you all! So I don’t know if it was just me but the beginning of this year just made me realize how fast time flies! Especially how fast the time has passed since the first day I moved into Alexis hall way back in 2006!! Probably to some of you, especially the freshmen, that seems like an eternity ago—but I will tell you that the time goes past faster than you can imagine and with so many great memories made along the way.

The moving in of the freshmen students by the Cavs Crew on Saturday morning kicked this past “welcome weekend” off. For those of you who are not familiar with Cavs Crew, it is a group of helpful Walsh students ranging from sophomores-seniors who generously volunteer their time and muscle to help the incoming freshmen class quickly and easily move into the dorms. This is never an easy task, and this year was no exception as there were close to 500 new students being welcomed on campus. Luckily we had about 120 volunteers who remembered how helpful the Cavs Crew was to them when they were moving in and wanted to return the favor.

Sam, Emily, Bethany, and Brittany showing off thier cool orange Cavs Crew T-shirts!! Eager to move in hundreds of freshmen!!

Cavs Crew was nothing new to me this year, as I had the pleasure of getting moved in by one of the first Cavs Crew groups, and fortunate enough to help coordinate the event for the past 3 years along with several other great leaders and co-workers: Damir Jozic, Jordan Miller, Katie Brown, Audra Smail, Rachel Hosler, and many other dedicated individuals on campus who helped to make this event run smoothly year after year.

This year’s move-in day came with a little scare—as a thunderstorm broke out the night before and rain continued to pour down all night—with little to no sign of stopping in the morning. Now, as organized as we were with Cavs Crew, there was really not much we could do if the weather did not cooperate as most of the process involves unloading the cars onto the sidewalks in front of the dorms, and carrying all the students’ belongings inside. In years past heat was our big issue as it hit the upper 80’s and 90’s certain years—but this year it looked like we might be soaked, along with all the students belongings, and to add to that we didn’t know where we would unload everything, as the lobbies would most likely fill quickly.

Luckily our prayers were answered, and I believe we really had mother nature on our side—as the first car pulled up to the dorm, and we all prepared for the worst by getting out our rain ponchos and –the rain STOPPED It truly came down to that minute that we thought this year may be an exception to the perfect record we had in the past. I was hesitant at first to see what the weather would do next, and to my surprise the sun came out and a cool breeze was still present to cool down the busy movers. Everything went on as usual and we were able to get the majority of the students moved in by 11:00am, with the rest by noon.

This years Cavs Crew proved to be one of our best and never quit, even when they had been out there for close to 4 hours without a long break or food. They were even good sports when a couple freshmen showed up with 10x’s the capacity of their room (i.e. the semi-truck, and U-Haul trailers) ha-ha. I found that its amazing just how much freshmen can fit into a 2×2 area—definitely a lot of engineering behind the process—perhaps your first real problem solving challenge when at college.

It was great watching the parents faces in shock when I told them “just remain in your vehicle, send your son/daughter up to their room to direct the movers, and we will fully unload your vehicle so you can park!” Many were in true amazement that we offered this type of service—and I reassured them that this was just one of the many perks of going to Walsh! As we all had this great experience and wanted to return the favor!

Thanks to all those individuals who helped out for Cavs Crew and to all the freshmen and parents who made the day a true pleasure.

After getting everyone moved in by noon, the “opening day weekend” was just getting kicked off as matriculation followed the move-in. We all lined up to clap in the new freshmen, a tradition of Walsh that I still remember from my freshmen year. The rest of the day involved several activities such as the GE 100 classes for the freshmen, and their first photo on the chapel stairs (another Walsh tradition—started the year my class entered). Following the picture came a nice picnic across the street at the Hoover picnic grounds. With an incredible magic show later that evening with Mike Super (a professional illusionist who has a TV show that will be airing early 2010 on NBC!). I still can’t believe my eyes of all the amazing things he was able to do! The day came to an end with a freshman social out on the lawn with Slip and Slide down the big hill on campus—another tradition of move in!!

The week continued on—welcoming the freshmen, as well as upper classmen with several picnic lunches out on the lawn, a movie night, and a beautiful opening mass with our Bishop Murry.

Walsh is certainly back in the swing of things and every event on campus has so much more impact this year as we celebrate the 50^th anniversary of the university! It was during mass today that I thought to myself about just how much I have had the opportunity to do in these past years at Walsh—and how I was so thankful I had become as involved as I had. I know that I have been blessed to be part of this exceptional university, and I know it is the faculty and staff, the Brothers of Christian Instruction, along with the truly dedicated students that make it stand out from all the rest!

Father Manning could not have put it any better when he asked us in his homily today “What do we bring to the party?” Hopefully every freshmen that walk the grounds of Walsh will consider this question and find their “niche”—their true calling to leave their mark on this campus by the time they graduate, just as the many students that have graduated before us have done time and time again!

I look forward to all that this new year brings, and I am excited to share with all of you my experiences as we celebrate the anniversary of the university together!! Keep a look out for weekly updates as there is always something going on!

Best of luck to all of you on your first week of classes!

Take care,

Chris Burr