Aug 27, 2008 -- Summer may be over, but the excitement of a new experience has just begun for this year's incoming students during Yeshiva University’s undergraduate Orientation Week, August 24-30. “I never looked forward to going back to high school in September, but now I have found a school to fit my religious, academic, and social needs, and that makes me eager to attend,” said Josh Sullum, an early admissions student from Poughkeepsie, NY. Sullum was one of hundreds of young men and women from around the US and beyond who arrived at the Wilf and Beren Campuses to begin their education in YU's unique and nurturing Jewish and academic environment. See photos from move-in day here. New and returning students will find many enhancements to academic and student life, including 23 newly appointed professors, continued improvements to campus facilities, and exciting academic programs. The soon-to-be completed Streetscape project on the Wilf Campus will provide better lighting and security on Amsterdam Avenue. The Career Development Center and Human Resources office have relocated to Laurel Hill Terrace, creating a new hub on campus. Over the summer, a fourth floor of modern classrooms, lab facilities, and faculty offices was added at 215 Lexington Avenue on the Beren Campus. Many students moving in to the student dorms on Sunday said Yeshiva University was an easy choice. “I was looking for a school where I could continue my Jewish education,” said Malke Freifeld from San Diego, CA. “And I really liked YU’s selection of Jewish education programs.” For Chanan Reitblat, most recently of Monroe, NY, enrolling at YU was the fulfillment of a lifelong goal. "Coming from the former Soviet Union, for me obtaining a Jewish education was always a dream. Now, I can proudly say that I am living the dream of being challenged and growing in a Jewish environment." For some, studying at YU is a family tradition. Although Elana Stavsky of Woodmere, NY, has many friends at Stern College for Women, her family’s long history at YU played a big role in her decision. “My mother and father, grandfather, uncles, aunts, and cousins all went to YU,” Stavsky said. “Where else would I go?” Elana’s mother, Evelyn Stavsky--who graduated from Stern in 1982 and from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in 1985--agreed. “I had such a wonderful time at YU that I really wanted my daughter to experience it as well.” President Richard M. Joel introduced YU's guiding philosophy to the new students at an Orientation breakfast on the Beren Campus on Monday. “This is a mission-driven place. You all know that Yeshiva stands for Torah Umadda--the awareness that through the lens of Torah, we embrace all of God's other gifts," he said. "We seek to partner with God and with other people of goodwill, building lives worth living and communities worth living in. Through you the world gets better.”