JSC Welcomes New Students and a New Academic Year

August 28, 2012

Monday, August 27, 2012 marked the opening of the fall semester at Johnson State College, as well as the culmination of the New Student Orientation activities that had begun the previous Friday, August 24.

On Friday, new students arrived on campus to settle into their residence halls or connect with other commuter students, and to take part in a weekend of Orientation activities, from sharing their thoughts on the2012 Common Book, 420 Charactersby Lou Beach; getting pumped up by motivational speaker Dr. Derek Greenfield; taking a break from the heat in the shade on the Quad; and just getting more familiar with campus before classes started.

On Sunday, August 26, President Barbara E. Murphy gave her formal welcome address to new students, sharing that she was looking forward to “watching [them] perform and rehearse and present, work with faculty or on [their] own to make a film or solve a problem, or learn to use a piece of lab equipment. I am looking forward to being in your company and helping to make possible the conditions for you to learn and learn again.” She concluded by inviting the students to “Trust the year ahead with me: its clumsiness, its messiness, its glimmers of clarity, the discoveries and learning that you will each come to know. I’m sure of that.”

Orientation officially ended on Monday, August 27 with Opening Convocation, the college’s annual ritual marking the beginning of a new school year. The new students lined up and processed into Dibden Center for the Arts, led by St. Andrew’s bagpipers, and cheered on by faculty, staff and students. President Murphy again spoke, welcoming the community, and telling them: “This is what I want for you this year: to find the questions and problems, the creative challenges that really matter to you, to ask for help and direction as you need them, and to commit to your own new discoveries. They can be very small questions, but that does not mean the answers will be small; they may turn out to be of enormous importance. We are eager to share this process of inquiry with you. To a year of doing our best work with dedication and joy individually and in the company and with the guidance of each other, I welcome you all.”

President Murphy’s remarks were followed by words from Academic Dean Daniel Regan and a talk by Environmental Sciences Professor Tania Bacchus. After Convocation, the entire JSC community was invited to enjoy a community barbecue before returning to classes and offices. The rest of the week was filled with fun, welcome-back activities, including laser tag, and free coffee and donuts!

To view pictures from Orientation and Welcome Week, click here.