 All right. Hello everybody. Thank you Stephanie for the introduction. My name is Phil Saccone and I am the president of the Rackham student government. On behalf of the student body It is my distinct pleasure to welcome you all here today as you begin the next chapter of your academic life. I Would also like to extend a special thanks to our new president for speaking at orientation today We're very excited here at the graduate school to be moving forward under his leadership And I hope that he will join us again for next year's orientation So here at Rackham, we've been preparing for your arrival for at least the last six months or so So it's very exciting to see everybody finally sitting here. Welcome again How many of you guys just arrived here in Ann Arbor in the last week or so? See by a show of hands. Okay. Nice. And how many people have been here for about a month or so? All right about half and half How many of you are coming to us from warm climates? You have chosen unwisely Full length jackets down waterproof hats gloves things like that Those months are going to be very productive though a lot of grant writing a lot of data getting recorded a lot of PIs being happy So we're very much looking forward to having you here and hosting you throughout the day We're hoping that you guys will come to the full orientation picnic, which is happening at five o'clock this afternoon We've got yard games. We have a DJ lots of good food. We even have a bounce house So hopefully you guys will come and enjoy the festivities And you guys are gonna have a wonderful long weekend coming Maybe you'll take in a tailgate or bounce home to see some friends relax a little bit And then before you know it Tuesday is gonna arrive The breakfast buffets will cease and the real work is gonna begin But have no fear because you're joining a community with a rich academic and social heritage And you guys out there represent our future on Tuesday You're gonna be asked to shoulder more responsibility than you likely ever had before You're going to learn to master your subject at one of the finest institutions Populated with some of the finest faculty in the world But it's going to be up to you In the undergraduate world people told you what to do They mapped out a plan and all you needed to do was walk the path now the goal is to develop mastery of your subject by being independent and Therein will be your challenge But you have to keep in mind that you were accepted here because you have the talent you have the skills You're among the leaders in the best now, and that's why you're all here And I don't Ohio State So I'm about to enter my fourth year of graduate school And I've been trying to sit around and reflect on what I've learned and enjoyed most about being a graduate student And of course what would be best for me to pass on to you And obviously I love what I study it would be highly unlikely for me to be doing what I'm doing here anywhere else In graduate school, it's expected that you'll learn with a certain amount of independence And there's a confidence that evolves through achievement in that environment, and if you'll forgive me a very corny metaphor It's like learning to ride a two-wheeler when you first try to stand up on it You're probably going to lose your balance You're going to be overly concerned with falling but fortunately you've got someone behind you is going to have their hand ever So gently on the seat making sure that you don't hurt yourself too badly and depending on what you're doing your graduate studies And that can have a whole lot of implications, but you know soon soon enough You know you're comfortable with that scenario and you get the bike gliding along and all of a sudden you look back and Feeling pretty good about everything and realize the hand isn't there anymore And that's when I think you really feel like you've you've arrived in graduate school So don't be afraid to take risks This is the environment to be creative to push the limits of your feel for both your benefit and also for the benefit of your colleagues In addition to my research, I've really enjoyed being a part of the broader community So we have over 1200 organizations here. There's a sailing club. There's ballroom dancing. There's countless intramural sports there's of course your iraqum student government feel free to come check us out and Participation in this community. I think will give your graduate school experience a lot of texture And it's important to make time for yourself. I'm gonna echo what everybody else has set up here You know make time for yourself the other passions in your life because it reminds you that the world is bigger Than just what you study So there are more practical things that I can impart on to you besides all of that some hardened fast rules for graduate school So the first is find lectures symposium and student organizations that serve food at their meetings Second be a friend to yourself. Don't get too tired or hungry And if you seem like you're having a tough time things are not going your way Remember that you're in good company no matter how in control everybody else Seems to be the angst generated by graduate school is common to all of us And lastly when something good happens if you publish a paper if you get good data or a student that you've been teaching comes up And tells you how you've effected positive change in their life in some way go celebrate Have a good time with friends and family take a step back and appreciate and celebrate your accomplishment And when it's all said and done and graduation is upon you and you move on from Michigan Just remember that everywhere you go Go blue. Thanks guys