Students return to Ohio State campus as massive move-in week concludes

Students return to Ohio State campus as massive move-in week concludes

President Bellamkonda and First Lady Kaligotla greet students and families

More than 14,000 students have returned to the campuses of The Ohio State University on the eve of the new academic year.

Hundreds of students and staff assisted new and returning students in moving into the university's residence halls last week. The well-choreographed process took place over four days on the Columbus campus.

Ohio State President Ravi V. Bellamkonda and his wife, Lalita Kaligotla, an associate professor at the College of Nursing, welcomed students and their families as they moved into Houston House on North Campus.

Bellamkonda said move-in is a particularly meaningful time for him.

"I love this time. I just love it because there's a lot of enthusiasm and some trepidation," he said. "It just is like renewal. It's like spring. After winter, you like spring. After students and not as many students being on campus, students coming in, it is spring for the university, even if it's fall on the calendar."

Some returning students had an opportunity to talk to the president about the new year, including new initiatives that will start this academic year.

This semester, Ohio State will launch BuildX, a program to help launch 100 investable student startups annually by 2030. Bellamkonda said he wants the university to be known as a haven for entrepreneurship.

"I was excited to hear about [Bellamkonda's] research and what he's done prior to coming to Ohio State," said resident advisor Braden Blackwelder, a second-year chemical engineering major. "I think it's awesome that he's putting a lot of money into the startup, as well. I'm a big fan of research. I spent my whole summer here in a graduate fellow's program."

An inaugural BuildX cohort of 20 startups is expected to launch this year to join a summer accelerator program in 2027. It's one of several signature undergraduate experiences for students this year.

Matt Wisniewski, a third-year pre-dental student and Japanese major, said it was good to meet the president as students were moving in.

"He seemed like a really down-to-earth guy. I mean, he's only been here for not too long, and he's already walking around meeting students," he said. "I think that's really great. He seemed very interested in research and that's something that I really like about Ohio State."

Bellamkonda said he was excited to see the joy from students arriving on campus.

"It's just great to hear the enthusiasm that they have and the love they have for Ohio State. That's the bottom line. There are engineers, nurses, environmental science, all sorts of people studying policy, business, but the common thread is they love this place, as do I," he said. "So it's wonderful to see that."

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