A warm welcome for the Class of '18
The College gave the Class of ’18 a warm, if wet, welcome Sunday as nearly 700 first-year students and 21 transfer students, led by bagpipers, marched into the Williamson Sports Center for the New Student Convocation that officially started the 2014-15 academic year.
At 731 students, this is one of the largest first-year classes in the College’s history. Last May, 712 members of the Class of ’14 graduated. Applications for this class hit a record 8,700.
Thirty-nine first-year students are studying in London this fall and 692 are residing on campus. About 360 participated in the College’s many pre-orientation programs.
President Philip A. Glotzbach urged students to
"think now about how you want to change the world."
“You are a wonderfully talented, energetic and diverse group,” said Mary Lou Bates, vice president and dean of admissions and financial aid, illustrating their diversity with key stats.
“You come from 35 states and 27 countries. Sixty percent of you are female and 40 percent are men. Ten percent of you are international and five percent of you are citizens of another country in addition to the U.S. Twenty-percent of you are students of color. Twenty percent of you speak a language other than English at home."
Among the achievements of members of the class thus far: serving as a translator at the Olympics, playing the Irish fiddle at the White House, auditioning for “The Voice," working for Yankee Candle in China, appearing on the "Today" show with a bugle corps, and performing with Bobby McFerrin.
"We also have an unusually large number of magicians and glassblowers,” said Bates, drawing a laugh.
The Class of 2018 banner was ceremoniously unfurled.
“You’ve been politically active at the federal, state and local levels. A number of you were actively engaged in the 2012 Presidential race in this country, and one of you in the 2013 Egyptian revolution.”
“You have hiked the French Alps, trekked in the Himalayas, and crossed the Pyrenees. The list goes on and on. It gives me great pleasure to introduce to the Skidmore community members of the Class of 2018 and transfer students joining our community.”
Janet Casey, professor of English and director of the First-Year Experience, spoke of the profound sense of satisfaction one achieves through deep immersion in a discipline or topic.
“In any really good subject, one has only to probe deeply enough to come to tears,” she observed, quoting Edith Wharton.
“My hope for you is that you find at Skidmore that sense of wonder and excitement, and that you too will be moved – perhaps even to tears – by something you find astonishing, surprising, or beautiful,” she concluded.
It was a big day for the nearly 700 first-year students who marched into
the gymnasium of the Williamson Sports Center.
Greeting the class on behalf of the city of Saratoga Springs, Mayor Joanne Yepson spoke of the opportunities that students will find in the strong relationship between the College and what she called “one of the greatest small cities in the country.”
“Our city is 28,000 strong and now that you have joined us it is 28,731 strong,” she said, noting that the students will be able to vote in Saratoga Springs and become fully involved in the government process. Over the years, she said, Skidmore students have made many important contributions to the city, including the completion of an energy-based inventory of all city facilities and an effort to have the city designated as a Climate Smart Community.
“Please know that my office in City Hall is always open to you – your ideas, your internships, and your participation,” she added.
Recalling his own sense of bewilderment during orientation two years ago, SGA President Addison Bennett promised the new students they would soon feel at home. “The people around you will not be strangers for long,” he said. “We are all here to welcome you and help you find opportunities to succeed at Skidmore.”
Noting that "we all have an obligation to give back in proportion to what we’ve been given,” President Philip A. Glotzbach urged the new class to “think now about how you want to change the world with the the amazing opportunity you’ve been given.”
“Start with the College,” he suggested. “Understand that Skidmore is now your community, not just for four years, but for the rest of your life. How will you leave your college a better place than when you found it?”
“You are in charge of your college career, and that career begins today. Not next week. Not next semester. Not next year. Begin now to take full advantage of the next four years of your life.”
