Troy University will hold their annual Welcome Weekend starting Saturday, Aug. 9.

The Welcome Weekend will include the official move-in days for Troy University starting Saturday at 8 a.m. and lasting until 5 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 12.

Sara Jo Burks, the assistant director of housing and residence life for Troy, said they were expecting anywhere from 500 to 1,000 students to begin moving in Saturday.

“Generally, the majority of your freshmen will come on Saturday, because they want to come that first day,” Burk said. “They want to get here, get acclimated.”

While the number of students moving in during Welcome Weekend may seem overwhelming, Burks said the housing department prepares in advance for the incoming rush of students.

“We’ve asked for volunteers to help move our students and in welcoming them to Troy,” Burk said. “Some of our buildings don’t have elevators, so climbing up and down stairs, especially if you happened to be the one placed on the fourth floor, can be rough.”

Volunteers will be able to help incoming students and parents unload their vehicles, which will help keep the flow of traffic going, Burk said.

“Having that little personal touch, having people there to help unload cars, that keeps the traffic going so people can pull in, unload their cars, people will help them with their things to their room and someone else can scoot in to that parking place,” Burk said. “We try to keep traffic moving that way, and unload their cars and help them because it’s usually hot. It’s just our effort to make our new Trojans feel welcome.”

Burk also said while some volunteers offered a whole day of service some could choose to just volunteer for a portion of the morning or afternoon during move-in days, but anytime was appreciated by the housing department.

“We usually are very successful in having volunteers come and do this for us,” Burk said. “We absolutely would not be able to make it a success without the volunteers. It just really helps a lot to have people, because (resident assistants) are answering questions and checking students in. Occasionally, we have students that only have their mother or grandmother that come to move them in and moving heavy boxes can become kind of hard for them.”

Welcome Weekend will conclude at 5 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 10, but students can continue moving in until Tuesday, Aug. 12 at 5 p.m. Any student needing to move in after 5 p.m. for different reasons should inform Troy University Housing Department in advance to hold the room.

Burk said the housing department was expecting Welcome Weekend and the move-in days to go well.

“It usually is a success,” Burk said. “I probably think the parents appreciate it more than anybody else.”