August 23rd marked the first day of classes for all Villanova students. For sophomores, juniors and seniors alike, August 23rd represented the beginning of another year set to be filled with joyous memories, late night studying and much more. For incoming freshmen, August 23rd represented the beginning of the next four years of their lives where feelings such as nerves, excitement and delight begin to kick in as their journey as part of the Villanova community embarks and the beginning of the freshman-fifteen commences. 

“It feels great being back,” junior Sidiki Konate said. “I am looking forward to resuming my student life and expanding my horizons.  With just two more years ahead, I’m determined to make the most out of this opportunity. We only have one life, so we must live it to the fullest.”

“The beginning of the semester is always exciting because the campus community reconvenes,” Michael Bradley, communications professor, said. “I love being back in the classroom, meeting new students and working to make their experiences at Villanova as successful as possible. Some people bemoan the end of the break, but I couldn’t wait to get started again.” 

This semester, Bradley will be teaching public speaking and introduction to journalism to both returning students and incoming students. He will also teach a graduate journalism course.

“Although the curriculum and workload that comes with junior year is extremely rigorous, I am looking forward to diving deeper into the material my classes have to offer,” student John Vigliotti said. “I am a civil engineering major, but I am starting to take classes in partnership with the school of business for a real estate development minor, an experience I am looking forward to.” 

“I’m looking forward to using many of Villanova’s many opportunities to bolster my experience in my passion,” sophomore Eric Vu said. “The Career Fair being one example, I got to meet like-minded individuals who helped me to explore my future options.”

When asked if there are any new changes on campus implemented by Villanova that he is looking forward to the most, Vigliotti commented on dining.

“The implementation of ordering through Grubhub at Café Nova is something I am looking forward to using more frequently,” he said. “I usually eat at Cova two to three times per week, and this ordering system allows me to wait and see and prepare times which allows me to map out my time more efficiently.”

This is the first year Villanova has implemented a new way to order a meal at Café Nova through Grubhub. Now, students have the ability to order food as soon as they get out of classes to ensure their food is waiting for them as soon as they arrive. Additionally, this new way to order meals helps students manage their schedules better and grab food more efficiently. Another added benefit to this new implementation from Villanova is that every student who signs up on GrubHub automatically receives free GrubHub Plus for the rest of the year, which makes ordering food to dorms much cheaper. 

With so much hope in the air for this upcoming semester and many new events on the horizon, it is hard for students to not be smiling and laughing as they walk to their next class on Villanova’s campus.