Incoming undergraduates, family members, and supporters gathered under a cloudless sky Wednesday afternoon at Memorial Field, where President Sian Leah Beilock and other senior leaders welcomed them to Dartmouth with encouragement, reassurance, and a few pro tips.
The ceremony, which drew about 3,000 people and was also livestreamed, marked a special juncture for the 1,185-member Class of 2028 and 32 transfer students, who sat in the stands with their house communities, having said goodbye to their families and supporters earlier that afternoon.
"I can tell you from experience that whatever nerves you're feeling, whatever first-day jitters, and believe me, we all have them, will very soon give way to excitement as you start this great adventure," President Beilock said.
Members of South House were excited to be starting at Dartmouth. Each of the house communities had special T-shirts for the day. (Photo By Robert Gill)
A cognitive scientist and leading expert on performance anxiety, Beilock noted that the students might be wondering whether they belong in "this class of the best and the brightest" from around the world. No need to worry, she told them.
"You are here out of tens of thousands who wanted to be in these seats because you earned it, because each of you has the potential to offer something unique to this community," she said. "Be bold enough to find it and share it."
Beilock assured the students that self-doubt is actually a predictor of success, and can be used to spur intellectual and personal growth.
"We, and sometimes those around us, will doubt us," she said. "The key is to use that fuel to gather more information, to learn from your experiences, and seek out different points of view."
Lee Coffin, vice president and dean of admissions and financial aid, provided a celebratory snapshot of the Class of 2028, highlighting how diverse a group they are and what they have in common.
"You share a signature of excellence, all the metrics of merit that Dartmouth values and appreciates," Coffin said. "You are smart and funny and creative and kind and curious."
The class, chosen from among a record-breaking 31,656 applicants, includes an aspiring neuro-theologian from Hollywood, an engineer from Bucharest who would like to investigate the DNA of his Roma community, a child model from Utah who served on a tribal youth council, and a Floridian who designs vertical oyster gardens, he said.
"Places like Dartmouth draw our strength, draw our purpose, from the diversity that so poetically illuminates this 254th entering class," Coffin said. "Engage it. Probe it. Listen. Your peers represent everywhere and everyone, to the best of our ability to create that for you."
Addressing the families, seated in a separate section of stands, Coffin had this advice: "Be proud as you watch your child fly. Smile from afar. Give them space to experiment, and remember, we have Band-Aids when they trip."
With fall term fast approaching, Elizabeth F. Smith, dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, advised the new students to work with their faculty advisers and other faculty members to select the mix of classes best suited to them, to move out of their intellectual comfort zones by exploring new subjects and perspectives, and to take the time to get to know their professors.
"Each one of you will choose a different path through your Dartmouth experience," Smith said. "You have the agency to act, to make choices that will allow you to get the most out of every aspect of your Dartmouth experience."
Eric Ramsey, who with Anne Hudak is co-interim dean of the College, also offered advice, urging the students to explore the myriad opportunities for learning at Dartmouth, in and out of the classroom, and to get to know the people around them.
"Ask open-ended questions and listen, really listen, with care and compassion to what someone else has to say," Ramsey said.
And when questions and challenges arise, as they undoubtedly will, "know that everyone on this campus wants to help you excel," Hudak said.
"Please know you can count on our powerhouse team of student support staff," she said. "We care about your health and well-being and helping you build positive and fulfilling connections at Dartmouth."
Welcoming the crowd to the extended Dartmouth family, Cheryl Bascomb '82, vice president for alumni relations, emphasized just how powerful and long-lasting those connections can be.
"You'll forever be welcome here and connected to the people and the place by virtue of your loved one," Bascomb told the students' friends, families, and supporters, and then described how alumni help and support students and each other throughout their lives.
Chukwuka Odigbo '25, president of Dartmouth Student Government, also welcomed the students.
Several speakers, including Beilock, emphasized the importance of respectful, constructive dialogue.
Through initiatives such as Dartmouth Dialogues and the Dialogue Project, a campus-wide program that builds skills for having open conversations about difficult topics, students will learn skills to help build bridges in a polarized world, Beilock said.
"At Dartmouth, we will always defend free expression, but we'll make it clear as well that one group does not have the right to disrupt the educational experience of another, that protest, dialogue, can be important, but taking over shared spaces for one ideological view is not free expression. In fact, it robs others of it," she said to applause from many parents and supporters in the stands.
Many parents gave a final wave out of the nest as students left Memorial Field after the ceremony for their first meeting of the Class of 2028. (Photo By Robert Gill)
After the event, students chatted and laughed as they walked with their house communities toward Leverone Field House for their first meeting of the class, the official start of new student orientation.
That program included remarks by Adria Brown '15, director of the Native American Program, about the founding of Dartmouth, and Your Class, Your Words, a spoken-word performance drawn from the admissions essays of the Class of 2028 and highlighting their diverse lived experiences.
Along the way, Randy Liu, '28, from New Haven, Conn., said the people he'd met at Dartmouth were what drew him to the College.
"I think the environment is more collaborative than competitive, so that was very nice," Liu said.
Catherine Rosser '28, from the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York, said she chose Dartmouth because it reminded her of home, and as an aspiring environmental scientist, it seemed like a perfect place to study.
She was "very excited" to have arrived on campus, Rosser said. "I've been looking forward to this all summer."