DE PERE, Wis (NBC 26) -- On Thursday at St. Norbert College, the class of 2024 moved into their dorms allowing the former high school seniors to once again get back to learning in an in-person setting come next week.
It's move-in day for the class of 2024 at St. Norbert College in De Pere. It's a day many students weren't sure would come.
"Definitely it was a concern not showing up in person because I did have my last year of high school online and that was really unfortunate," says Grace Smith an incoming freshman.
"In a way, it just makes you super grateful to be a part of something because I didn't even think I'd be able to come to college this year. I thought I was going to be learning over a screen," adds Austyn Krueger an incoming freshman.
As the boxes are unloaded from the cars and the countless personal belongings are wheeled into the dorms, students and staff are well aware the fall semester will be unlike any semester here in the past.
"They should know that masks are required inside and out. They should know that physical distancing will be the order of the day in their classrooms as well as all other spaces on campus," explains Julie Massey the interim Vice President of Student Affairs at St. Norbert College.
In personal offices and dorm rooms, masks can be taken off. But when it comes to the classroom, where most students can expect the majority of their learning to be conducted in the fall, masks will be required. On top of that social distancing, according to administrators, will be more manageable than in the past.
"We also have physically distanced all of our classrooms to be safe. We've added new classroom space to be classrooms," says Brian Bruess the President of St. Norbert College.
"We are using spaces we have not normally used for classrooms, ballrooms, meeting rooms, larger spaces where people can spread out more," adds Massey.
Some courses will be taught online and some students and staff have opted to take that route exclusively in the fall according to Massey. It's an option that some students have found to be a good balance between in-person learning and online learning exclusively.
"I expected most of my classes to be online but it's actually split pretty evenly right now," adds Smith.
