Under sunny skies, new and returning students traveled between locations on the Mount Carmel Campus filling the sidewalks with busy lanes of foot traffic. 

As they headed into the Carl Hansen Student Center to grab breakfast, two new Bobcats from Madison, Conn., Andrew Ozimek ’28 and Gavin Doyle ’28, said they were feeling both excited and nervous to get their first day underway. 

“I’m excited and a little nervous to see new faces in my classes, meet new people, meet my professors and see what the coursework is like,” said Doyle. 

Faculty member Stephen Bisaccia ’19 was reminded of his first day of classes as an undergrad on the Mount Carmel Campus just a few years ago. Bisaccia is beginning his second year as an adjunct professor of film, television and media arts at Quinnipiac. 

“I ran into a student that I had last semester and he was happy to say hi and to tell me all about the film classes he’s taking this semester,” said Bisaccia. “Just being able to watch the growth of students and be part of that in some small way, and meet new ones today, is very exciting.”

School of Communications remote equipment manager Jessica Smith, who has been teaching at Quinnipiac since 2017, will be teaching first-year courses this semester. 

“I’m here on campus all summer long, so to see the excitement and the hustle and bustle, seeing them get into their different groups and classes, meeting one another and just hearing the communication throughout the buildings again is really nice,” said Smith. 

Behavioral neuroscience major David Ephirim ’26, a Ghana native currently living in Minnesota, has also been on campus since the summer. 

“I came to campus earlier this month to help international students come on campus,” said Ephirim. “It feels somewhat welcoming in the sense that I got to see how it was like when I first got here and also try to share my experience with them. It feels like home because I’ve been here for a while now and I’ve adjusted to all of the cultural changes.” 

Madison Thompson ’25 experienced her last first day of classes as a Quinnipiac undergraduate. As a Recreation and Wellness Center student employee, Thompson spent the morning at the front desk, helping students tap into the gym. The occupational therapy major from Staten Island, N.Y. said she was excited to see all of her friends again. 

“My program isn’t super big so I’m really close with everyone in my classes and after not seeing them all summer, it’s exciting to get back and see them,” said Thompson. 

From her view at the RecWell desk, Thompson said students coming into the center seemed excited, too. 

“I see a lot of excitement,” said Thompson. “They all seem to be ready – even just go to the gym or get in the line at Shake Smart. They’re all excited to be back on campus and getting back to all the stuff they love here." 

Taking a brief break on some Adirondack chairs on the quad, West Haven, Conn. residents Mia Rubirosa ’28 and Holly Waibel ’28 reflected on attending first-year seminar that morning together. 

“That was our first class,” said Rubirosa. “It’s a very funny story, because we’ve been friends for 14 years and we just found out we had the same class today.”

“We were in the dining hall having breakfast when we figured out we were in the same room for the seminar,” said Waibel. “It was a good first class and the professor was really nice. It just feels so surreal now that we’re in college but I’m actually really happy. I’m excited for the experience.”