The last day of August brought faculty, staff, alumni, administrators and -- most importantly -- the freshman Class of 2011 to the Wren Yard for the official beginning of the 2007-08 academic year. As the strains of the choir faded away, the president and rector were quick to follow, singing the praises of William and Mary and its newest students alike.
"You enlist today in one of the nation's most remarkable institutions," said President Gene R. Nichol at the outset, before detailing the impressive accomplishments of the entering freshmen.
Board of Visitors Rector Michael K. Powell '85, D.P.S. '02 had similar sentiments, declaring that the Class of 2011 was "coming close to being a newly discovered species." Powell also pointed out his own attire, which he classified as "green robes and bling."
The keynote speech at convocation was given by Dr. Michelle Whitehurst-Cook '75, a physician and associate dean of admissions for the Virginia Commonwealth
University Medical School in Richmond, Va. Whitehurst-Cook, along with her duties in Richmond, is immersed in service work as far away as Wise, Va., minutes from the Kentucky border. Her speech to an undergraduate group increasingly known for its service was no coincidence.
"It is very easy to get caught up in the day-to-day trials of our lives, and forget to consider the real needs of those without our resources," she said. "We all must take the time to remember those in need and continue to find ways to help them, in ways that feed our individual passions. It is important to remember that, in helping others, we are helping society and ourselves to make the world a safer and more caring place."
Before the ceremonial procession through the Wren Building, Nichol concluded his remarks. "We will be known, yes, for what we learn, what we write, what we create, what we imagine, what we explain and what we discover," he said. "But at this ancient College, we will be known as well by what we do, where we go, what we face, who we reach, what we change and what we become."
