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If there’s anything to learn from Lydia Bir (BS ’27), Nora Lenham (BA ’27), and Riley Regnier’s (BA ’27) friendship, it’s that cartwheeling in Welcome Week lines is cool, and may be one of the best ways to make memories with new friends.
They began their time as Ramblers living in Francis Hall and the following year as roommates. Now, they’re continuing a tradition that started their first year at Loyola: taking a photo at the arches between the Information Commons and Madonna della Strada Chapel.
Loyola Today met with this group of friends as they looked back on the moments that defined their friendship and forward to exciting senior year plans.
Q: What was it like retaking your first-day photo?
Regnier: It’s so full circle… we laugh about it too because I remember it was just the three of us taking [pictures of each other] and we wanted one of all three of us. We saw a guy with a camera, and we [asked], “Hey can you take a photo of us?”
And he asked, “Can I get a photo of you guys walking through the arch?” Then when we saw that photo on Instagram, we made it our whole personality for three weeks. Everyone was reposting it. We were sending it to family. Coming back to that and seeing how far we’ve come… we’ve lived together, we’ve gone abroad, we’ve spent summers together, we’ve spent summers apart, gone through so many different jobs and other things, and to come back to that same place and be the same three who have grown so much and come so far… it was sentimental and it was nostalgic.
Q: How did you all meet?
Regnier: It was before the first day of classes. We [Riley, Lydia, and their suitemate] decided we wanted to go to the beach, but we didn’t actually know where it was. So we got all of our stuff and then we ran into Nora and a couple of her roommates in the elevator and they had the same amount of beach gear. We said, “Oh, you have towels. Are you guys going to the beach?” And they said yes. We all figured it out together and we ended up going to a beach that was like also a mile away. It’s the furthest beach we could’ve gone to, but it was also a bonding experience.
Q: What was your first day as first years on campus like?
Lenham: I feel like it’s always so nerve-wracking. It’s a whole new experience and it’s so different from high school. I’m from Maryland, so then having that connection with Riley, being far from home, that was nice.
Regnier: I remember being super nervous about everything. I’m from South Carolina, so I was kind of here by myself and everything was so new and I was really nervous. But Lydia was my suitemate freshman year, and Nora was across the hall. Making those connections right before classes started… I knew I had people in my classes, people nearby… it really eased my nerves, and I had someone to walk to class with.
Bir: I remember my first day moving in and as soon as my parents left, I think there was a little bit where I was just there alone. I was the first roommate to move in. And then Riley and her roommate Issa knocked on my door. We ended up going to the Target a mile away and we just walked and it was a really good bonding experience. Even though I’m from Indiana, which is close, being out of state was hard. I struggled a lot with homesickness, so it’s just really nice to have people in my corner.
Ask people to do the Welcome Week events even if you think they're cheesy. Go to the dining hall and sit with someone new. It's all about putting yourself out there.
— Riley Regnier (BA ’27)
Q: What did you do during your first week on campus together as first years?
Regnier: We’ve tried to go to all the Welcome Week events together. [We would all be] waiting in a line, not knowing what to do. We would get bored. I remember we would do cartwheels in line and gymnastics… people were looking around because why would you be doing that? But we tried to just kind of make everything fun.
Lenham: The first day [of classes] for me was really hard. Having these connections and these shared experiences definitely helped.
Q: How did you feel on your first day of senior year?
Regnier: It’s just super bittersweet. It’s exciting, and this is what we came here for, to leave with a degree, but it’s sad too because we love this place and the friendships and the experiences that we’ve had. Four years seemed a lot longer four years ago.
Bir: It felt a lot different since freshman year. The first day of freshman year I was like go, go, go. I had to figure out where everything was. Senior year you’re able to just lay back a little more and enjoy a special moment, like the picture and stuff.
Q: Is there any advice you’d give to the new students or anyone entering a new chapter of their life and meeting people?
Lenham: Freshman year, I was so worried about making friends. The second day I told my roommate, “Today my goal is to make at least one friend.” I think that was the day [Lydia, Nora, and Riley] met actually! Going into college, there was so much pressure that I had to make friends. And in high school, like I knew everyone basically. My advice would be to not put that much pressure on yourself and to let these natural friendships happen.
Bir: You have so many opportunities to reinvent yourself. For example, I was really quiet in high school. I got to college and I met people that I felt like I could be like myself around and show my personality…show my funny side which I never really got the chance to in high school.
Regnier: Go meet your suite mate. Knock on the door in front of you. Ask the people who are obviously going to the beach if they’re going to the beach and if they want to go together. Ask people to do the Welcome Week events even if you think they’re cheesy. Go to the dining hall and sit with someone new. It’s all about putting yourself out there, but everyone’s in the same boat that first little bit and you won’t regret it and you’ll have friends [for] life.
