USF hits record capacity as students move into new residence hall at Sarasota-Manatee campus

By Georgia Jackson, University Communications and Marketing

Friday marked a historic day for USF Sarasota-Manatee. By 9 a.m., the campus was buzzing with excitement as leadership welcomed the first students to the Campus Student Center and Atala Residence Hall.  
  
Throughout the morning, volunteers sporting green “Atala Haul” shirts helped students move carts with pillows, microwaves, miniature refrigerators and other domestic items into suites and apartments on the top four floors of the new building. One student carried a cork board already covered in photographs. A sign in the atrium reminded students, “On Wednesdays we wear green!”  

“Everything looks amazing,” said Isabelle Sorensen, a student and campus tour guide who kept up with the building’s construction, which started in March 2023. “I am ready to be here all the time.”  

Sorensen and her friend Lauren Pellegrino, also a tour guide for the campus, moved into a two-room apartment on the sixth-floor of Atala Hall, which offers spectacular views of Sarasota Bay and the downtown Sarasota skyline.  

While the landmark event was part of a larger narrative taking place across all three USF campuses, where approximately 7,500 USF students are expected to live on campus when classes begin on Monday, Aug. 26, for the Sarasota-Manatee campus, move-in day was the culmination of a yearslong project to transform itself from a commuter campus into a full-service academic institution.  
   
“While today marks a new era for this campus,” Regional Chancellor Karen Holbrook said, “it is not about changing our culture, but rather adding to the fabric of our personalized approach to learning and creating deeper connections with our students, who bring a new energy and vibrancy we have imagined for this campus for so long.”  
   
In addition to four floors of suites and apartments available in four configurations — many of which boast views of Sarasota Bay — the Campus Student Center and Atala Residence Hall is also home to enhanced dining facilities, a ballroom, a bookstore, study lounges and meeting rooms, gaming areas, student government offices and USF World.  

Helping Pellegrino move into her new on-campus home was her father, Tom Pellegrino, who graduated from USF Sarasota-Manatee in 1989. He said the day highlighted the difference between his experience and his daughter’s. “When I went here there were no dorms for USF, so everything was commuter,” he said.  

Lauren said she is thrilled to be following her father's example.

“It’s just so fun to talk about how it was back then and how it is now. I can see the legacy that has continued and what has changed,” Lauren said. “I’m really excited to be a part of the Sarasota-Manatee family.”  
 
“It’s been a great journey for her,” her father said. “She is so involved on campus and I love seeing her follow in my footsteps. A lot of what I did, she’s doing now.” 
 
Meanwhile, on the first floor, Gwen Switkes was waiting in line for the elevator, which would carry her upstairs to her new home — a four-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment with a kitchenette and a living room. Her service animal Kelsi, a caramel labradoodle, waited patiently by her side. 

“I’ll be working at the front desk, so she’s going to be like a mascot,” Switkes said of Kelsi. “I just want to meet people and know everyone." 
   
For Student Governor Spence Gerber, who spent the day helping new students move their belongings into the new building, move in day was about more than checking out keys and unloading boxes. 

“We opened the door for a new profile of students,” said Gerber. “High school students from anywhere in the state — and country, for that matter — can now add USF Sarasota-Manatee to their wish list.” 
  
Named after the striking Atala butterfly, Atala Hall is also home to the campus’ first living learning community, where over 40 students from the Muma College of Business, the College of Education and the Judy Genshaft Honors College will enjoy an array of programs and experiences — such as special events and opportunities for internships — designed to complement and expand their academic interests.  
  
“The Atalas symbolize transformation, resilience and the importance of harmony with the natural world,” Holbrook said. “Like these butterflies, our unique students come here for a short while, to live, learn and grow. They then fly away to their next adventure and fly back as alumni to enjoy the campus year after year. Now both our students and the butterflies have a dedicated place to call home.”