UIW Cardinals Flock to the Nest for a New Academic Year

Move-In

The start of a new academic year is an exciting time on all our UIW campuses, but particularly here on the UIW Broadway campus as new and returning Cardinals flock to the Nest as residents. On Thursday, Aug. 20 through Sunday, Aug. 23, the campus experienced, yet again, one of its largest anticipated move-ins with approximately 1,160 students choosing to call UIW their "home away from home."

On Thursday, Sept. 20, students and their families arrived eager to become acquainted with the campus and the exciting opportunities it has to offer for the 2026-2027 academic year. JR Chiodo-Benmuvhar, associate director of Residence Life, expressed that he loved to see the enthusiasm students and their families brought to campus. He especially enjoyed seeing that students had already begun building friendships within their dorm communities.

"This is an exciting time to be a resident Cardinal! Connect with your roommate and floormates. Find your community and explore your passions," shared Chiodo-Benmuvhar. "Nothing says ONE WORD more than attending theatre productions, concerts, and competitions with your neighbors. Rise up, take flight, be YOU!"

Pinning Ceremony

The day's festivities continued as over 750 students and their families gathered in the Alice P. McDermott Convocation Center for UIW's annual Pinning Ceremony, a special ceremony that recognizes the start of students' journeys at UIW. Students are adorned with a pin depicting the University's seal to symbolize their promise to achieve personal and academic success. Family, friends, faculty, staff and University President Dr. Thomas M. Evans applauded and cheered for the Class of 2030 as they officially became a part of the Incarnate Word family.

"The Pinning Ceremony is one of our most meaningful traditions for incoming students. It is a time to welcome them into our UIW community, celebrate all they have accomplished leading up to starting college, and motivate them for the journey ahead," shared Eric Booth, dean of Campus Engagement. "To see the excitement of our new Cardinals and their parents as they place the golden lapel over their hearts is such a special moment. The Campus Engagement team did a wonderful job planning the event, and I am sure it will be a fond memory for our students and their families."

Welcome Mass

The weekend concluded on Sunday, Aug. 23, with a Welcome Mass hosted in the Chapel of the Incarnate Word and an additional Mass occurring simultaneously in the Heritage Center. This tradition is held the Sunday before classes start, allowing students and their families to prayerfully ask for God's presence to guide them as Cardinals as they embark on their new chapters at the institution.

Sr. Walter Maher, CCVI, vice president of Mission and Ministry, shared that, "In his homily at our welcome back Mass, Fr. Abraham invited each one of us to consider our responsibilities as a student, a faculty member, a staff member or as an administrator and how God wants us to succeed in our responsibilities. We can use our responsibilities to grow, to learn and to deepen our faith as we respond to Jesus's question, 'who do you say I am?'  The answer to this question is embedded in how we live our daily lives, in the way we speak to each other, in the way we treat others, and in how we respond to others who are different from us. In other words, to become the 'Imago Dei'."

With these words of wisdom in our minds and on our hearts, we look forward with great anticipation to the academic year ahead.

Welcome to UIW Class of 2030!