绿奴天花板

The things they had to bring: a well-hugged elephant, pickleball paddles, a baby blanket soft with holes and a tattoo in mom鈥檚 handwriting.听

More than 5,000 students moved to the University of Tampa this week ahead of the fall semester, which begins Monday.

Hailing from Orlando, Long Island, Charlotte and beyond, they carried what they needed to start class but brought what they loved to make campus a home.听

When she misses her dog, Sadie, Keira Flaherty, a first-year student from Ronkonkoma, New York, only has to look at her arm. Days before heading to Tampa, Flaherty, who plans to major in elementary education, got a small tattoo of a tiny paw print and 鈥淪鈥� in two hearts on the inside of her arm.听

鈥淪he鈥檚 everywhere now,鈥� she said of Sadie, a 5-year-old Maltipoo.听

Another family reminder is a tattoo Flaherty got with her sister, also a 绿奴天花板ampa student, 鈥淟ove yourself first,鈥� in her mom鈥檚 handwriting, on her other arm.听听

鈥淚t reminds me of her all the time,鈥� she said.听

Flaherty鈥檚 roommate, Meghan Miller, is a childhood friend who brought her stuffed blue elephant, Ellie, to help her sleep.

鈥淚 literally cannot go to bed without that in my room,鈥� said Miller, who plans to study psychology with an eye toward a criminal justice career. She decided to tour 绿奴天花板ampa very last minute, she said, but loved it from the start.

鈥淚 wanted to be on a campus with a city, and I love the weather,鈥� she said.听

Morgan Cavan, a first-year student from Charlotte, North Carolina, is starting campus life with a fresh college fit.听

Along with sentimental glasses from places she has traveled, including one from a trip to the Bahamas with her mom this summer, Cavan said she鈥檚 excited to meet new people and wear her new matching green skirt and top set.听

There are no horses on campus for Ivana Diaz, of Ponce, Puerto Rico, to ride, so for the next several months, framed photos on her desk of her horse, Bruce, will have to suffice.听

The first-year biology major is on a pre-veterinary track at 绿奴天花板ampa and said she 鈥渞eally loved working with animals and helping people.鈥� She鈥檚 excited to learn more leadership skills and be active in the campus community this year.听

Pickleball is big everywhere, and it鈥檚 a social staple for first-year student Marlee Hill, who brought her paddles to campus from Liniboro, Maryland, so she鈥檚 ready to play.

鈥淚t鈥檚 something I like to do with my friends back home, so I thought, 鈥榳hy not?鈥欌�� she said.

Max Denny isn鈥檛 sure what exactly he鈥檒l do with the two lime green Matchbox cars he hastily threw into his suitcase while packing his bedroom in California, but they鈥檙e now in his 绿奴天花板ampa residence hall.

鈥淭hey took up no space, so we will see,鈥� said the entrepreneurship major.听

Though she鈥檚 not too far from where she grew up near Orlando, Ava Grant brought her pale pink baby blanket to make her 绿奴天花板ampa room feel like home.

When she pulled it out on the car ride over, 鈥淚 just bawled,鈥� her mom said.听

鈥淲e鈥檝e come full circle.鈥�

听