BIDDEFORD, Maine — The University of New England welcomed its largest freshman class ever as cars rolled into its Biddeford campus on Friday.
Around 850 people make up the record-breaking class, including some 300 first-generation college students. Because of this, the school held a special lunch for families after they had moved loved ones into their dorms.
Faculty, who themselves were the first in their family to attend college, sat down at each table and answered questions.
Shane Long, assistant dean of students and the first member of his family to attend college, said he wanted to make sure the incoming pupils understood how to make the most of their experience at UNE.
"They get connected to the folks who really can be resources to them for when they run into a rough patch or when they really want to try something new," Long said. "They have those connections to these folks at UNE."
In addition to it being the school's largest freshman class, spokesperson Chris Rose said it’s also the university's most geographically and ethnically diverse, with students from 33 states moving onto campus this month.