More than 4,000 Cardinals will call the UofL campus home, including over 2,100 first-year students who arrived this week and nearly 1,900 upper-level and transfer students moving in over the weekend. This year brings a record-breaking number of students living on campus with  at full capacity.  

“I’m more excited than nervous for the school year to start,” said first-year student Stella Huber, of Floyd Knobs, Ind.

Huber will be a part of , an early admission program the offers to exceptional high school seniors who demonstrate a commitment to pursue a career in dentistry.

“ULEAD was the deciding factor for me coming to UofL since dental school is hard to get into,” Huber said. “We’ve spent some time getting to know each other this week and I’ve really enjoyed it so far.”

Huber’s move-in was made easier thanks to volunteer Isabella Spencer, a third-year student volunteering with the faith-based RSO , who helped wheel items from Huber’s car across campus to the residence hall. This was Spencer’s first time volunteering with , a (UHRE) program that provides various volunteer services from traffic flow to hands-on moving of items.

“It went smoothly today,” said Spencer. “I was happy to help new students get settled in and pay it forward.”  

A record-breaking Move-in Day required a record-breaking number of volunteers. Nearly 700 volunteers— including current students, student organization members, faculty, staff and alumni— assisted students as they moved in. They joined UHRE staff, who provide year-round support to residents through area coordinators and resident assistants.

Renelleda Saint-Hilaire, a second-year student, will serve as a resident assistant in . She said the best way staff can support families and students on Move-in Day is by offering directions and guidance during what can be an overwhelming experience. This is Saint-Hilaire’s first year on the UHRE student staff.

“My residents will be first-year students, and I am only a year older than them,” she said. “It’ll be interesting to be both a peer and mentor to them.”

UofL President Gerry Bradley was also on hand throughout the day to greet students and families on  extending a warm welcome to the newest Cardinals.

The fun doesn’t stop with Move-in Day. More than 100  have been planned for incoming students and returning students.��Some of the activities include a Cardinal Kickoff Picnic with Bradley and other UofL leaders; yard games and Bingo Like Never B-4; UofL night at Kentucky Kingdom; After Hours event at the Speed Art Museum; and a Student Government Association welcome lunch.

Classes begin on Monday, Aug. 18.��

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Called Living-Learning Communities (LLCs) and Themed Communities (TCs), these groups are varied and sometimes offer lower and upper divisions. Among the 2022-2023 communities are those for majors such as engineering, education and health sciences and those that focus on interests such as sustainability, social justice, Black culture or the LGBTQ+ community. There is even one dedicated solely to transfer students.

“The idea of the LLCs is to make living on campus something that’s desirable and to give it a little bit more meaning,” said Eva Little, LLC program coordinator, in a recent Student Affairs .

This fall, one of the two new residence halls dedicated on Belknap Campus — Denny Crum Hall — boasted a new Sport Professional LLC.��

“This LLC provides students a unique opportunity to immerse themselves in the sport industry,” said Thomas Hardy, executive director of University Housing and the Resident Experience (UHRE). “Among other things, members have an ‘inside’ look into the UofL Athletics Department and opportunities to network with other sport organizations in Louisville as well as UofL’s extensive alumni network of sport professionals.”

These types of communities are common across higher education institutions because they directly contribute to student success, said Tina Belcher, director of resident experience.

“The LLC offers many opportunities for different majors,” said Emma Hurley, a first-year student from Sidney, Ohio, living in the ����ֱ�� and Health & Sports Sciences LLC in Belknap Village North. A major in middle and secondary education in the College of ����ֱ�� and Human Development, she praised the instant support an LLC offers. “Whenever one of us needs help on something, we are close by. I recommend living in an LLC to other students because if you think you might struggle with your major or a class, there is always someone there to help you with it.”

Classrooms built into some of the newer residence halls (Belknap Village North and South) allow LLC/TC residents to have a class right in their building.

“Most really enjoy their time in their LLC/TC and really love the community they are in, coming back specifically for the upper division LLC if offered,” Belcher said. She added the communities are always being reevaluated to keep up with student interests and needs. To that end, an ESports LLC is expected to be offered .

The LLCs and TCs operating during the 2022-2023 academic year are:

• Denny Crum Hall: Sport Professional
• Belknap Village North: ����ֱ�� & Health and Sport Sciences; Feminist Social Justice Leadership; First-Generation Cardinal; Parish; Social Work
• Belknap Village South: Men of PEACC; Metropolitan College; Psychology; School of Music
• Bettie Johnson: Engineering; Entrepreneurship; Global Village; Public Health; School of Music
• Billy Minardi: Metropolitan College
• University Pointe: Air Force ROTC
• Community Park: Engineering; Health Sciences
• Cardinal Towne: Bayard Rustin LGBTQ+ & Social Justice; Transfer Student
• Kurz: Honors
• Louisville Hall: College of Business TILE; Ethics; Sustainability
• University Pointe: Army ROTC
• University Tower Apartments: Air Force and Army ROTC; Bayard Rustin LGBTQ+ & Social Justice.

For more information on LLCs, visit .��

In preparation for this influx, the department that was once Housing and Residence Life changed its name to University Housing and the Resident Experience (UHRE) to better reflect its modern mission.�� 

Enter Tina Belcher, who on Aug. 1 started her job as UofL’s first Director for the Resident Experience.�� 

The Irvine, Kentucky, native and Eastern Kentucky University double graduate is passionate about students and their well-being. She trained to be a nurse to care for patients but switched her focus to caring for students when she realized from personal experience how important it is for them to have on-campus support and guidance during their college years. She has two degrees from EKU: a bachelor’s in psychology and a master’s in student personnel services in higher education.�� 

Belcher started her own college career commuting to EKU from her parents’ farm. But when a friend was looking for a roommate on campus and invited Belcher to join her, she moved into her first EKU residence hall. Though Belcher didn’t know it would at the time, that move to campus housing changed her career trajectory.�� 

“I did start off as a nursing major and I was a resident assistant at the same time. I realized I loved doing this. I love being a role model for others. I’ve seen the impact that housing can have on someone’s experience,” she said.��

Belcher, who began her career in a similar role at Mississippi State, came to UofL as the transformation of Belknap Campus took final shape this fall when New Residence Hall  officially opened. NRH and its neighboring twin that opened in 2021, Belknap Residence Hall, replaced two outdated halls in Miller and Threlkeld halls. Together, they accommodate about 900 students, mostly first-years, in modern, spacious settings meant to feel like home while contributing to their success.��

The new halls sit on either side of the Swain Student Activities Center. Their proximity to the Red Barn, Ekstrom Library, the Interfaith Center, classroom buildings and the tree-lined Quad mean residents are immersed daily in UofL’s vibrant student life.

In addition, the new Denny Crum Hall on South Floyd Street, also opened this fall.�� 

Belcher said she understands the importance of her new role at UofL, “and I don’t take that lightly.” 

“To me, the role is the overall leadership of making sure the students have a good experience. I feel responsible for that,” she said.�� 

“This position was created to have someone devoted to the entire resident experience, that 70% outside the classroom, and mainly in the residence halls, the average student spends at UofL to ensure it is productive and worthwhile to their growth and learning,” said Thomas W. Hardy, executive director of UHRE. “Tina has immediately started making a positive impact on our campus and most important with our students who reside on campus in areas of connectedness, promoting resources at UofL that lead to retention, and serving on the student care team to ensure those in crisis get the assistance needed.” 

Belcher said she sees her role as dynamic: On any day, she could be providing customer service, helping with academics, or ensuring someone has extra emotional support.�� 

“It’s at a crucial time in their life … coming to college and living alone, away from their family and what they have known their whole life. I’m hoping at the end of the day, their experience in housing leads to their success in the classroom and overall leads to graduation after four years.” 

Belcher said that while common issues like roommate conflicts (“how to navigate someone new in your space”) have been around for decades, students today have an added wrinkle: social media.��

“Technology obviously is a great thing, but it definitely can bring some unique challenges as well that we have to navigate,” Belcher said. “But hopefully we’re learning to also meet students where they are with that technology. … We hear students just need to get off their phone … which is a little bit true. But I also think it’s a little bit of, ‘that might not happen so how can we incorporate that technology to meet them where they are?’ I think that’s something that is a unique challenge.”  

Belcher finds herself in at least one of UofL’s 12 residence halls every day. She might meet with the staff that she supervises or just chat with students. Her favorite spots on campus so far are the Quad, which she called an “oasis,” and the Red Barn, which she said is “just a unique and iconic building.” 

She lives in St. Matthews with her two 7-year-old cats, Boo and Sullie.��