{"id":20321,"date":"2020-10-19T18:17:23","date_gmt":"2020-10-19T18:17:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/?p=20321&post_type=story"},"modified":"2022-08-19T17:23:46","modified_gmt":"2022-08-19T17:23:46","slug":"a-new-beginning","status":"publish","type":"story","link":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/a-new-beginning\/","title":{"rendered":"A New Beginning"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fall 2020 | By Jenna Marina Lee\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

While some elements of campus life have changed drastically this fall, others remain the same. The semester kicked off in early August as usual when 6,000 students moved into residence halls on the main campus. Though there are fewer on-campus residents, more than 80 people from across campus collaborated to optimize the move-in process<\/a> and ensure the well-being and health of all involved. Additionally, in-person class sizes have become smaller while the caliber of students continues to increase<\/a>. The Class of 2024 boasts an average GPA of 4.18, the strongest in university history.<\/p>\n

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[blockquote source=”April Konvalinka, executive director of housing and residence life” cite=”” color=”#000000″ css_class=””]This whole experience has shown that when we all come together to achieve a task of this magnitude, amazing things can happen.<\/span>[\/blockquote]<\/p>\n

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\n
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$120,445<\/span>
\nAmount raised for the Student Emergency Fund since March, with $33,445 from sales of Rock \u2019Em Sock\u2019s UCF-branded face coverings as of September 30<\/p>\n

30,000+<\/span>
\n<\/strong>UCF-branded face coverings distributed to students, faculty and staff<\/p>\n

1322<\/span>
\n<\/strong>Average SAT score of UCF\u2019s incoming freshman class<\/p>\n

450<\/span>
\nStudents who attended a physically distanced Knighting ceremony, a tradition officially inducting new students to UCF, on Memory Mall<\/p>\n

40<\/span>
\nHours of hand-washing offered at portable sinks sponsored by UCF\u2019s Wellness & Health Promotion Services<\/a> on the main and downtown campuses during the first two weeks of the fall semester<\/p>\n

19<\/span>
\nAverage minutes for students to check into their residence halls, which included COVID testing<\/p>\n

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[photo id=”20857″ title=”FirstDay-MovingIn-1024″ alt=”A student and two parents moving items into a dorm” position=”left” width=”1024px”][\/photo]<\/p>\n

During move-in, students were allowed to have a maximum of two people assist with their move and everyone was required to wear face coverings.
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[photo id=”20858″ title=”FirstDay-LawnGlobal-1024″ alt=”bird’s-eye view of Memorial Mall during the Knighting event” position=”left” width=”1024px”][\/photo]<\/p>\n

On Aug. 23, the Knighting was held on Memory Mall with physical distancing in place. The event is traditionally held in the campus arena.
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[photo id=”20862″ title=”FirstDay-SocialGirls-1024″ alt=”a group of four students physically distancing on the lawn” position=”left” width=”1024px”][\/photo]<\/p>\n

By Armoring Up, Knights take care of themselves and others.
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[photo id=”20920″ title=”FirstDay-football-3fans-1024″ alt=”students sitting in physically distanced groups in stadium stands” position=”left” width=”1024px”][\/photo]<\/p>\n

Students cheered on the UCF football team during a physically distanced watch party held at the Bounce House for the Knights\u2019 season opening win at Georgia Tech.
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[photo id=”20924″ title=”FirstDay-clasroomday-1024″ alt=”ucf student sitting in class with mask on” position=”left” width=”1024px”][\/photo]<\/p>\n

Although most classes are held online this fall, some face-to-face instruction was offered on campus. In preparation of welcoming back students, architects and engineers examined each of the university\u2019s 267 classrooms across its main, Downtown and Rosen campuses to develop plans for new seating arrangements that comply with CDC guidelines.
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[photo id=”20863″ title=”FirstDay-DriveIn-1024″ alt=”Drive In Testing” position=”left” width=”1024px”][\/photo]<\/p>\n

In partnership with Aventus BioLabs, drive-in COVID testing was conducted in Garage B on the main campus as part of the move-in process.
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[photo id=”20926″ title=”FirstDay-mobile-flushot-1024″ alt=”mobile flu shot cart” position=”left” width=”1024px”][\/photo]<\/p>\n

To make getting a flu shot as easy as possible, Student Health Services offered the vaccine to students, faculty and staff on the main campus via a mobile flu cart.
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[photo id=”20861″ title=”FirstDay-WashingHands-1024″ alt=”Maribeth Ehasz washing her hands” position=”left” width=”1024px”][\/photo]<\/p>\n

Maribeth Ehasz, vice president of Student Development and Enrollment Services, washes her hands at portable sinks set up near the Reflecting Pond during the first week of school.
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[photo id=”20864″ title=”FirstDay-Sanitize-1024″ alt=”Sanitize Station” position=”left” width=”1024px”][\/photo]<\/p>\n

Motion-sensor hand sanitizer dispensers are available throughout UCF’s campuses.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":20831,"template":"","categories":[979],"tags":[1469,1508,1432,529,1507],"class_list":["post-20321","story","type-story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-in-focus","tag-coronavirus","tag-housing-and-residence-life","tag-philanthropy","tag-ucf-downtown","tag-wellness-health-promotion-services","issues-1462","issues-fall-2020"],"yoast_head":"\nUCF Returns to Campus for Fall 2020<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A look at the first few weeks on campus as the community continues to navigate life during the COVID-19 pandemic.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/a-new-beginning\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" 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