After a lazy summer, Oakland is starting to buzz again with the sounds, sights and smells of college life. While it may still be summer, the first hint of an autumn breeze fills the air with the joyful hellos of new friends and heartfelt goodbyes of parents. Whether first-year or senior, the sense of opportunity is palpable.
Pitt welcomed its 4,794 new students this year on Wednesday at the New Student Convocation. Stephen Caruso / Senior Staff Photographer
Christopher and Beth Bean read a convocation program in the Petersen Event Center. From New Jersey, the two just dropped of their son Brady, a member of the Pitt Band, at school. They described the experience as “bittersweet."
“He’s ready, we may not be," they said.
Stephen Caruso / Senior Staff Photographermore
Stephen Caruso / Senior Staff Photographer
Students read The Pitt Promise: A Commitment to Civility aloud together. Stephen Caruso / Senior Staff Photographer
Pitt first-years climb Cardiac Hill to the Petersen Event Center Tuesday evening for their class picture. Stephen Caruso / Senior Staff Photographer
Kyrie Gu, first-year, is from China, and came to Pittsburgh because he "heard the city is really amazing.” Stephen Caruso / Senior Staff Photographer
Alyssa Reese, from Bethlehem, Pa., and Jenny Lorenzi, from Montgomery, NJ, are both first-years and roommates. “I don’t talk to her at all,” Lorenzi joked. Stephen Caruso / Senior Staff Photographermore
Pitt students hold up placards for their class photo. Stephen Caruso / Senior Staff Photographer
Anshuman Jaswal, originally from India, is a new law student at Pitt. Jaswal has worked in the US for four years already. “Whenever [I] have time [I] want to go back,” Jaswal said of his home. However, he recognized his studies are "a once in a life time opportunity.” Stephen Caruso / Senior Staff Photographermore
The scent of grilling meat wafted down Forbes Avenue as Thrival Festival handed out free burgers and dogs from the Digital Plaza. Stephen Caruso / Senior Staff Photographer
Left to right, Sanjana Suraneni, Vijay Vedaihalam and Dhruv Gohel, all first-years, show of their ballon animals from the Global Carnival Thursday evening. Stephen Caruso / Senior Staff Photographer
Suraneni, from New Jersey, got a ladbug ballon animal. Stephen Caruso / Senior Staff Photographer
Nina Dunnell, a junior anthropolgy major, hugs Jenna Furman, a junior Human Resource major, outside Bouquet Gardens. The two have been friends since their first year and hadn't seen each other since the end of last semester. Stephen Caruso / Senior Staff Photographermore
Clubs from College Republicans to Pitt Tonight vied for students attention. Abigail Self / Staff Photographer
Students queue for the annual Activities Fair held every year at the Petersen Events Center this Sunday. Abigail Self / Staff Photographer
Abigail Self / Staff Photographer
Andrew Liu, from Portland, Ore., fresh from the plane, rolls his bags towards his new home. Stephen Caruso / Senior Staff Photographer