Well-wishes, welcomes, and words of wisdom filled Keuka College’s Norton Chapel Friday as some 350 incoming students took part in the annual Academic Convocation.
College Board of Trustees Chair Dr. Crystal Gips '65 welcomed students before acknowledging Student Trustee Leilani Price, a fourth-year Criminology and Criminal Justice major.
The ceremony marked the completion of Wolf Week, seven days of programs and activities designed to introduce and acclimate new students to their educational home for the next four years.
“As an alumna, I speak from experience when I tell you the bonds you form here will not only enrich your college years but will also become a source of support as you tackle future challenges,” Dr. Crystal Gips ’65, chair of the College’s Board of Trustees, told the incoming Class of 2024. “In short, you will make lifelong friends at Keuka College.”
Sophomores Connor Harding and Megan Horner offered advice gleaned from their own first-year experiences.
Second-year Psychology major Megan Horner urged new students to be themselves and enjoy their time at Keuka College. "Create lasting memories and make friends," she said. "The people you surround yourself with at Keuka may be your friends for life."
Connor, the Student Senate president, urged students to develop a solid work ethic and to not let fear hold them back.
“Fear is just your brain saying, ‘Um, I’m not so sure about this situation,’” he said. “Take these fears and use them as motivation to better yourself as a person and to learn more about yourself.”
Megan advised students to cast away self-doubts.
“The biggest thing I learned in my first year was that success starts with being yourself and believing in yourself,” said Megan, the recipient of this year’s Emerging Wolf Award, which honors exceptional leadership from a first-year student. “Growth is the cornerstone of success. By believing we can grow, we make strides towards success.”
Professor of History Dr. Christopher Leahy delivered the convocation's keynote address, drawing parallels between early American political divisions and similar rifts in society today, and urging Keukonians to come together to promote more civil discourse.
The Keynote Address was delivered by Professor of History Dr. Christopher Leahy, who compared the politically fraught election of 1800 with the sometimes calamitous state of politics today.
“We have experienced toxic political environments before and come out of them intact,” he said, citing the Civil War as the obvious, painful exception. “There is precedent for doing so, in other words. Thus, there is hope that it can be done again.”
Encouraging a return to civil discourse, said Dr. Leahy, begins at home. He cited Thomas Jefferson’s efforts to heal political divisions in his first inaugural address, in which he said, “We are all republicans, we are all federalists.” That is, shared interests as Americans ought to outweigh political party interests.
College President Amy Storey recounted high points of College history and reminded students that, like them, she is a campus resident. "Keuka College isn’t just my workplace, it’s my home," she said. "And now, it’s your home, too."
“To paraphrase Thomas Jefferson, ‘We are all Keukonians,’” he told students. “We all have a shared stake in the process as we work through it on campus.”
College President Amy Storey shared a little history about the College, including its 1890 founding, the establishment of its signature Nursing and Field Period® programs in the 1940s, and its legacy of hosting leaders in the movements for civil rights and social equality.
The ceremony concluded with Dr. Elizabeth Lambert, interim vice president for Student Development, formally inducting the new students into the Keuka College community. With the symbolic act of pinning themselves with the acorn pin, the students affirmed their commitment to the values of diversity, integrity, leadership, and social responsibility.
After a post-convocation class photo and celebratory barbecue on the Chapel lawn, students were ready to take on their fall classes, which began on Monday.
