 Good afternoon. My name is John King. My pronouns are he, him, and his. And I want to welcome our entering class and their family members to the first-ever virtual convocation ceremony at Roger Williams. I am pleased to introduce two members of the class of 2022, Jordan Peck and Ava Wilkins to sing the national anthem. We love the twilight's last gleam, Whose broad stripes and bright stars we stream. Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave. Thank you, Ava and Jordan. We appreciate you preparing and recording your rendition for us this afternoon. Greetings and welcome to members of the Board of Trustees, President Mialis, Provost Everett, faculty staff, parents, and family members, and our special and most important guest, the first-year and transfer students comprising the entering class. As vice president of Student Life, I thank each of you for being with us today and watching this recording with us. For both family members and students, this week has been full of powerful and competing emotions. The energy created by pride, happiness, and excitement conflicting with anxiety about the transition to university life, making new friends, taking on new academic challenges, and saying, until I see you again, to loved ones. And yes, there are the palatable and surreal considerations and adaptations that come along with starting college during a worldwide pandemic. That reality, along with helpful advice, will be addressed by several of our speakers this afternoon. History informs us that the term Convocation dates back to the 14th century, was originally developed to describe important religious gatherings, and then adopted by universities to celebrate academic ceremonies, such as the beginning of the academic year. I could describe to you what Convocation has traditionally looked like and how it has been celebrated before at Roger Williams. I chose not to because, like almost everything in your world, starting with the end of your senior year of high school, your graduations and celebratory parties, your orientation to college, and your mental and emotional preparation for university life has changed radically. You have adapted remarkably and will continue to do so. The university has adapted profoundly and will also continue to do so. We will adapt and learn together. The leadership and mentorship provided by our dedicated and talented faculty, staff, and student leaders is ready to assist you. We have come together as a community, like no other time in our history, and now we welcome you and will depend on you to protect and strengthen this community. Learning is central to all we do as a university, and while we learn together, we do so through a process of building community through caring about each other. The challenges of COVID-19 and the necessity for each of us to think about others and to protect others requires us to set aside individual freedoms and ways of being for now that are central to our culture and how we have lived in the past. Being a community member requires intentional investment and action. True community members don't stand by while appear struggles with any of life's many challenges, loss, or injustice. They reach out offering empathy, intervention, and support. The call to community requires all of us to listen and understand each other, to welcome and learn from all expressions of diversity and identity, and to respect and value the dignity of each individual. It is a pleasure to welcome each of you and your family members as members of the Roger Williams University community. It is now my pleasure to welcome Amy Tiberio, Vice President of Enrollment Management to present the entering class. Amy? Good afternoon. My role today is to officially introduce the entering class of 2024 and all our new transfer students to the greater campus community as you begin your Roger Williams University academic career. We're so excited for you and are honored that you have chosen Roger Williams as your new home. Individually, you have all taken very distinct pathways to join us, and so it's exciting to be able to welcome you all today for the first time as one full class of new students. Allow me to share just a few high-level characteristics and facts about you and your new classmates. You come to us from 589 different public and private high schools and transfer institutions. You hail from 23 states and six different countries. 85% of you are out of state students. With 19.3% enrolling students of color, our overall student body will be the most diverse that we have ever had at Roger Williams. Your involvement in hobbies are also diverse. You are athletes, activists, volunteers, musicians, dancers, actors, poets, and so much more. And you are one of the most academically talented classes we have ever had. In addition and more specifically within this class we welcome a semi-professional video gamer, someone who has performed at Disney World, a competitive Irish dancer, a competitive roller skater, several entrepreneurs, a beekeeper, many eagle scouts, and many children and siblings of Roger Williams alumni. I can only touch on the talents and experiences you're bringing to us. Please know individually each of you will make us a better institution and collectively you are an amazing class. We cannot wait to see how you will challenge us and help us grow. And most importantly please know that you are here because we believe in you and we know that you can succeed. It is now my privilege to hand off this incredible class to our president. Dr. Mayulis, I'm pleased to present to you the first year in transfer students representing this fall 2020 entering class. Thank you. Thank you, Amy. I'd like to provide some bio information on President Mialis. A visionary leader in experiential learning and champion of STEM education, President Mialis is the 11th president of Roger Williams University, guiding our mission and commitment to providing an outstanding education through community engaged learning and civic scholarship. Dr. Mialis previously served as president and director of the Boston Museum of Science since 2003, introducing more than 1.5 million visitors a year to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. During his tenure, he raised the museum's profile to an internationally acclaimed STEM education institution through fundraising efforts. These efforts included a $50 million gift from Bloomberg Philanthropies, which supported the creation of world class exhibits, outreach programs, and innovative educational initiatives. An esteemed administrator and innovative educator, Dr. Mialis began his distinguished career in higher education at Tufts University, where he served as dean of the College of Engineering, associate provost, interim dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and a professor of mechanical engineering. During his leadership at the College of Engineering, he helped raise $100 million for the engineering school and work closely with students and faculty to more than double its research initiative, introduce new programs, form professional partnerships within the industry, and significantly increase the number of female students and faculty members. In 2001, he spearheaded an initiative to make Massachusetts the first state in the nation to bring engineering and technology curriculum into its K through 12 public system. As a first generation college student who grew up in Greece, Dr. Mialis understands the value of an excellent education. And as our leader at Roger Williams, he continues to champion the university's vision to combine the liberal arts with a professional education through experiential learning opportunities that prepare our students to graduate ready to succeed and thrive as engaged global scholars and citizens. Dr. Mialis holds a doctoral degree in mechanical engineering, a master of arts and economics, and a bachelor of science in engineering from Tufts University, as well as a master of science in mechanical engineering from MIT and an honorary doctor of science degree from the State University of New York. He has published numerous research papers, several educational textbooks, and holds two engineering patents. He currently serves on the board of trustees for Tufts University, the Patricia and Philip Frost Museum of Science, the International Space Station National Laboratory, and WGBH. He has served on the NASA advisory committees, the NASA Education and Public Outreach Committee, the National Steering Committee for the National Education Assessment Program, the board of Wellesley College, and as presidential appointee to the National Board of Museum and Library Services. He currently serves on the National STEM Education Advisory panel. President Mialis started about one year ago to the day last year, and to say that his first year has been extraordinarily challenging and complex would be an understatement. It is a pleasure and an honor to welcome President Mialis to speak to the entering class. President Mialis? Entering class, I'm so excited to officially welcome you to Roger Williams University. And these are exceptional times, and you're all exceptional students. And I'm very proud for how this moving has gone. And it's not easy with the COVID situation. You all did not have a senior year graduation, you imagined. And I know that this moving has not been what you also have imagined. But being together is so important. The university education is more than just lectures. It is the education, the discussion, being on your own and learning independence, but also being together that is so important at this time. Please let me tell you a little bit about my higher education journey as a student and my transition to college. Don't be confused by my Rhode Island accent. Actually, I come from Greece. I grew up in Greece and came to study here in Massachusetts at Tufts University as an undergraduate. I had never been in the US. My parents had never been in the US. And actually, I'm a first generation four year college graduate for my family. My mom brought me to the airport and she was crying her eyes out. She had a feeling I'd never go back to Greece to live there. Of course, I would go for vacation there for the holidays. And she was devastated. I was leaving, but then she thought this was the best thing for me. And eventually, she replaced me with a large number of cats when she realized that I'm not going to be going back. My dad took me to his tailor about two weeks before I left to make me a suit because he thought that I have to wear a three piece suit every day to the class to go to class. And I did have a three piece suit. And also he got me a leather briefcase. So first day of classes, I dressed up in my suit, took my briefcase, and I opened the door of my room and my sweet mates, all my classmates, most of them American were there. They were saying, What the heck are you going? You already have an interview? I said, No, I'm going to class. And of course, they all fell on the floor laughing because of the way I was dressed. Of course, I had no idea how to get dressed. And I immediately changed. And that was a borat moment for me. Nonetheless, I got quickly accustomed to college life and love my undergraduate and graduate education experience. So now you're all hawks. And with that comes a great responsibility. We have done all of our institutional planning to reopen. But staying open is is up to all of us as individuals. The underlying message is an important one that you learn over and over at Roger Williams in many of your classes. Your actions are larger than yourself and individual choices affect the greater community. Consider all the procedures that we have put in place for COVID-19 masks, physical distancing, COVID testing. And these procedures are for you, but also for those around you. To think I'm young, I'm healthy and will be fine. And don't want to wear a mask is about you. To think I'm young. And if I'm contagious, I'll wear a mask so that they protect others. Thinking about others, caring about others is what it means to be a hawk. You will see our focus on social justice, care for your classmates, care for the world, shine through in all we do in how our faculty teach. And in the activities and opportunities, we challenge you to take advantage of during your time on campus. I'm personally passionate about higher education. My experience as a faculty member at Afts University, working closely with students in classroom and research was foundational. I still keep in touch with a lot of my advisees, the graduate advisees that now they are presidents of vice presidents of major corporations, deans of engineering schools, very successful ones, and we still think back and cherish our time together. Lots of special things that brought me to Roger Williams about a year ago. This is I'm starting my second year at Roger Williams. Some of them combination of liberal arts and professional studies, a unique, unique combination of great strength for the university. The opportunity to major and minor or double major on to all of the above. To make it possible to students to become true civic scholars, emphasis on experiential learning and community partnerships, comprehensive action plan to support equity, diversity and inclusion. Real commitment and action to support of diversity in all its forms, to training and education and also for open and transparent leadership around campus. Everyone here at Roger Williams is welcome, regardless of religion, ethnicity, race and sexual orientation. And I expect all of you to be respectful of differences and celebrate diversity. I truly believe that Roger Williams offers the opportunity to be part of a family with different backgrounds, perspectives, cultures and values celebrated. You're a student center campus here, we're a student center campus with caring staff at faculty and motivated, bright and engaged students. I'm convinced that Roger Williams is uniquely positioned to be the university that the world needs now and that our graduates will threaten society. Now let me give to the freshman class some advice. Be organized and plan ahead. When I was an undergraduate every Sunday morning, I would wake up and before I would go to a breakfast or brunch, I would open a actually a paper calendar back then and I encourage you to get a paper calendar and plan my entire week. I did very well as an undergraduate. I never had to study past eight o'clock in the evening. Outside of some few exceptions. And always I had one of my weekend days free. And I managed to do very well simply because I took I was very organized and took advantage of every few moment I had and I encourage you to do the same. Take advantage of the fantastic educational opportunities we have at Roger Williams, we have fantastic faculty with great expertise, great experience, get to know them, get to do research with them, get to engage with them. Learn a second language very, very valuable in these days. Study abroad, become a civic scholar and build lifelong friendships. Many of you will meet your lifelong partner here at the university, meet students from different states, countries, races, religions and learn from them and their experiences. And now some suggestions, advice to the parents. I know how hard it is to live your son and daughter here and drive away. I did it twice. Both of my daughters went to my alma mater, Tufts University. I had taught there for many years, gotten three degrees from the university, met their mother there. And when I dropped them off, freshman year, I almost fainted as well. I was nervous. I was a wreck. So I know exactly how you feel. But one piece of advice, let them go. Let them go. We'll take good care of them. This is probably the best university to drop off your son and daughter and feel sure that they'll be taken care of. Trust them and trust us to help guide them into the journey. And my partner, Hayde, and I will be very visible and active in campus life. And we want each family member of our students to feel that they are family members of Roger Williams University. I look forward to seeing you with masks on throughout the fall semester. And thank you for being with us this fall and good luck with your studies. This is a new and exciting beginning. This is a happy day that you'll ever forget. Good luck to all of you. Thank you, President Vialis. A distinguished administrator and educator in higher education, Margaret Everett joined the Roger Williams University community on July 1st this summer as provost and senior vice president for academic affairs. Serving as chief academic officer to lead undergraduate and graduate teaching, research, scholarship and service for the university. Dr. Everett, who has been acting as provost and vice president at Leslie University will serve as a strategic leader across Roger Williams six schools of study and collaborate with the School of Law and University College. Empowering the faculty in the delivery of our distinctive educational programs focused on community engagement and civic scholarship. With extensive experience in leading faculty and developing innovative interdisciplinary programs, Everett is well positioned to inspire the diverse constituencies across Roger Williams campuses in Bristol and Providence and design new academic models and programs that enhance the university's mission to strengthen society through engaged teaching and learning. Prior to Leslie University, Dr. Everett spent 22 years teaching and working in key leadership roles at Portland State University in Portland, Oregon, where she led many initiatives that align with our WU strategic priorities, such as redesigning graduate admission services and creating international partnerships in Asia, Latin America and Europe, while also serving as a professor of anthropology, sociology and international studies. Dr. Everett holds a PhD and a master's in philosophy in anthropology from Yale University and a Bachelor of Arts in Latin American studies from Smith College. She has contributed to several books and authored articles on public health and labor issues in Latin America through an anthropological and sociological lens and on questions surrounding morality and privacy and bioethics and genetic ethics. During her tenure at Portland State University, she received the Excellence in Community and University Partnerships Award and the John Elliott Outstanding Teaching Award. She has served as chair elect of the Board of Trustee for the World Affairs Council of Oregon, as well as on the steering committee for global PDX, the Migrant and Seasonal Farm Workers Advisory Committee for the Oregon Department of Human Services and several genetic research and genetics privacy advisory committees appointed by the Oregon State Legislature. Please welcome Provost Margaret Everett. Hi, my name is Margaret Everett and I have the pleasure of serving as Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Roger Williams University. I'm so pleased and excited to welcome our entering class to RWU. Like you, this is my first year at Roger Williams. I came to Roger Williams because of its strong mix of professional and liberal arts education, its studying location, vibrant community, and commitment to community-engaged learning. I imagine many of you are here for the same reason. I've only been here for a few months, but I can tell you that it is a special place and I hope that you will come to love it as much as I do. College for me, which was a long time ago, was a time when I did a lot of growing up. I found out what I was passionate about and I began to understand where I wanted to go and who I wanted to be. I made lasting friendships and I had mentors who continued to support and inspire my journey long after I finished college. I hope the same for each and every one of you. Most of all, I want you to hear from me how committed we all are here to your success. If I can give you one piece of advice, it is to find the people who will help and support you and to ask for their help when you need it. Being self-reliant and independent is important and you'll develop that too, but it's also important to learn to ask for help when you need it and to let people know what you need and to find the people who will most support you. To the parents, I want to acknowledge what an existential moment this is, leaving our children at college. Two years ago, I was leaving my daughter, my oldest daughter, for the first time at college and I'm getting ready to send her off again in just a few days. If this is your first time going through this proud and wrenching moment, I just want to say I feel your pain. I also want to share that it does get easier and as we let go and see our children become independent adults, the joy and pride really does exceed the pain. If you are new to Roger Williams, you are coming to us at an unbelievably challenging and unique time. I will tell you that I have come to really hate the term silver lining in the last few months, so I'm not going to use it with you here, but I will say that yes, there are lessons to be learned and accomplishments to be celebrated in all of this. I hope you come to feel the pride that I do about the way this community has come together, faculty, staff and students, to find a way to be together with a comprehensive and responsible plan. We are resilient, we value perseverance, we will move through this time together. So with that, welcome again and go Hawks. Thank you Provost Everett. Dr. Adria Updike is Associate Professor of Physics and is entering her ninth year teaching at Roger Williams. Professor Updike has a well-earned reputation with students as a passionate educator who brings physics and astrological study alive and present in their lives. Last spring, Adria was honored with the prestigious Excellence in Teaching Award as testament to her effectiveness as an educator and the respect that she has earned from both students and colleagues alike. Dr. Updike earned a PhD from Clemson University in physics with a concentration in astrophysics and completed postdoctoral studies at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. Research interests include computational modeling of exploding stars from the early universe and developing electronic sensors for monitoring marine environments. In addition to teaching at Roger Williams, Professor Updike has performed locally as a member of the Providence Singers. Please welcome Professor Adria Updike. Hi everyone, I'm Professor Adria Updike and I teach physics and astronomy here at Roger. I've been asked to welcome you on behalf of the faculty. We're all really excited to see you in class this week, literally and remotely. This year is going to present a lot of new challenges to everyone involved. We've all spent a lot of time this summer preparing for a new teaching environment, but we're going to need you to be patient with us and we're going to try to do the same with you as we all figure this out. One of the biggest challenges that I ran into last year when we all went online in March was keeping my students engaged with the material and with each other. I know a lot of people felt really disconnected. It turns out one of the best ways to teach a subject, especially physics, my field, is to try to teach it to somebody else. And that's why our professors use a lot of group work and group activities in class. You might be asked to participate in remote forms of group work like breakout rooms, forum discussions, and so on. The more you put into these, the more you're going to get out of them. So please play along. Don't be afraid to speak up when you're confused and don't worry about what other people think about you. You're paying for this education, get the most out of it. One of my biggest regrets about my college experience was not speaking up when I was confused and staying confused a lot longer than I needed to be as a result. You've got experts here to answer your questions. Small classes and access to great professors is one of the best things about Roger, so take advantage of these resources while you're here. I want to let you know that we all love what we do and we're going to make this work. We might not see you in class as often as we'd like to, so make sure that you reach out to your professors when you have questions, when you're struggling, or when you need help. We want to see you succeed and we're all here to help you. There's a lot of other resources on campus you can reach out to as well from the tutoring center to cease out to the counseling center. We are all here for you. Stay safe, wear your mask, and we'll see you this week. Thank you Professor Updike. Sam Avila, a member of the class of 2022, has already contributed in countless ways to the Roger Williams community, and he still has two years left for more. A first-generation student from Pawtucket, Rhode Island, Sam is starting his second year as a resident assistant and also as an orientation advisor. He regularly works in the tutoring center assisting peers with their writing. Sam is beginning his third year as a member of student senate, having chaired the academic affairs committee as a first-year student, serving as parliamentarian his sophomore year, and elected last spring to serve as president of senate for the 2020-2021 academic year. Sam and the entire senate have been actively engaged with the university all summer long, providing involvement and feedback in our reopening planning efforts and in regular communication. Please join me in welcoming Sam as he delivers the student senate welcome. Good morning, and welcome to our faculty, staff, family members, loved ones, and most importantly to you, the Roger Williams University, class of 2024. I am Samuel Avila. I am a member of the class of 2022 from Patucket, Rhode Island. I also have the distinct honor as serving as a student by president for this year. With that, it is my honor to officially welcome you all to the Roger Williams community on behalf of your fellow peers. I would be remiss if I didn't acknowledge the state of the world as we sit here today. Right now, you're all watching convocation through your computer screen instead of an in-person ceremony. There is much uncertainty in the area about what the future holds for all of us after the COVID-19 pandemic, and on top of that, you're starting a new chapter in your life as a student at Roger Williams University. That can sound really overwhelming, especially since our generation has never lived through a pandemic before. There is no game plan of how to navigate life during a global pandemic, let alone how to be a college student during said pandemic. I don't have many answers, however, I can share all of the amazing experiences I have had here at Roger Williams University and how the sense of community here will stay with me after this pandemic and after I graduate in two years. While I have only hit the halfway mark of my college career, I have had the opportunity to participate in the multitude of amazing experiences. So once I do receive my degree and become the first in my family to graduate from college, I know that I will always consider RWU as my second home due to the experiences and people I have encountered here. As a freshman and member of the Intercultural Leadership Ambassador Program, I began to meet great friends from day one that I still connect with today. Referred to as ILA, this program brings together a diverse group of students who demonstrate great leadership and academic ability into a co-curricular program based on mentorship and academic support. Through ILA, I have been able to learn multiple soft skills while making some great friendships and connections on campus. At the involvement fair, about a week into the semester, there were a myriad of clubs and organizations on display showing off their purpose on campus and recruiting new students to join their groups. While I was going through the many clubs and organizations on campus, I had come across the organization known as the Student Senate. Meeting with a group of senators representing the organization and realizing that their purpose was to advocate on behalf of the student body, I knew I wanted to be in the room where it happened and run for a seat on the Student Senate during the small election because I was not throwing away my shot. And now here I am, student body president. There are two leadership positions I really wanted to apply for my freshman year, the orientation advisor and resident assistant positions. As an OA, I wanted to help welcome new students to RWU and get them excited about the community here. As an RA, I wanted to further those connections by working with first year students in the residential community. I was a layman when I got both positions and looked forward to working with the incoming class. Although I ended up working with upper class and Stonewall Terrace, I still enjoyed being another resource for my residents. I was able to bond with them and make deep connections with other student leaders as well. And now I will be an RA in Maple Hall, so I get my wish with working with first year students. I share these experiences with you because these same opportunities, as well as others, will be available to all of you. Even during this global pandemic, student groups are still making plans to connect with you virtually, because they want you as part of the group. We have over 80 clubs and organizations on campus, a variety of work-study and payroll jobs, majors that have internship and study abroad programs, Farsi, club sport and intramural teams you may want to join. The possibilities are endless for you to take an active part in our community. That also means you have to take the chance to put yourself out there and join our community whatever way you see fit. Sometimes things may not work out the way you think, but you must keep on trying. You will find your niche here at RWU and once you do, it will be a great feeling to have that strong support system to the point where you too will consider this your home. I understand that you all, as a group specifically, have had a rough time these past few months. Most of you had problems cancelled, graduation ceremonies via car parade and then you didn't get the chance to say goodbye. This is a hard thing for me to imagine and my heart hurts for all of you. We here at Roger also lost a group of seniors that had their college careers cut short and while we cannot feel the impact of your senior year of high school being cut short, we know how hard it was to say goodbye to our seniors without a proper send off. But remember, your Roger Williams community is here to support you and help you grow throughout your college experience and beyond. However, we are all responsible to keep this community safe. That means we must all embrace and follow the Roger's compact, such as six feet of physical distancing, wearing our masks, staying in your room if you're sick and many other things in order to keep our community safe. This year will bring lots of uncertainty, but there are two things you can count on. We are always here for each other because Hawks lie together and it's always a great day to be a hawk. So I hope you enjoy your first year here, Hawks of 2024. Make every moment matter. Stay safe, stay healthy, and welcome to Roger Williams University. Thank you, Sam. Michael Buschell is president of St. Ann's Hospital, a member of the Steward Healthcare family in Fall River, Massachusetts, just 10 miles from our campus. Michael has served as president at St. Ann's since 2016 and during his tenure, St. Ann's has been recognized as a leapfrog top hospital in both 2017 and 2018 and noted for high patient satisfaction and quality care assurance. Prior to being appointed president, Michael served as chief financial officer and vice president of operations at St. Ann's. In 2018, Michael initiated a relationship and memo of understanding linking St. Ann's Hospital with our university for emergency and acute care and our students have reported excellent care when needed. As a proud parent of a current senior, Colin, a marketing major in the Gvelly School of Business, Mr. Buschell knows firsthand how important the first year transition is and how integral family involvement needs to be. It is a pleasure to introduce our family speaker, Mr. Michael Buschell. Dear parents of incoming freshmen, good afternoon and congratulations to all on joining the Roger Williams University class of 2024. It is a distinct honor for me to speak with you today as you embark on this new and meaningful phase in life. It was three years ago that my wife and I sat with our son, Colin, as he started on his journey to independence. I remember vividly dropping Colin off three years ago. At that time, my wife and I were unsure whether our son would be independent enough to flourish living on campus and being left to his own devices. Just getting him to college to seem like a major accomplishment to us. Reflecting back three years, we now realize that Colin's path to independence got off to a great start when he chose Roger Williams University. As they say in the real estate business, location, location, location. The Roger Williams campus is beautifully positioned, overlooking Mount Hope Bay and is easily accessible to Newport, Providence and other beautiful New England locations. My wife and I can't believe that our son has an ocean view from his door room that we could only dream of having. In addition to its outstanding location, the Roger Williams campus is the right size in my opinion for students that are looking to move away from home while at the same time not looking to be overwhelmed by the experience. I'm sure you are feeling a mix of emotions which is very much to be expected and I won't try to convince you that having your child leave for the freshman year of college is not a big deal. It's a bigger deal now more than ever because of the pandemic. As president of St. Ann's Hospital which is the closest hospital from the Roger Williams campus, I understand the fear and anxiety you are all feeling. All of us have felt the impact of the pandemic and sweeping changes it brought to our daily lives. Roger Williams in my opinion has done an outstanding job getting the campus ready to accept and house our sons and daughters for the fall semester. My wife and I are excited to have our son Colin returning to live on campus for his senior year. While Colin could commute to Roger Williams because he lives only 20 minutes from campus, we felt that it was very important that Colin live on campus to finish his college career how it started. While no plan is foolproof, we feel that Roger Williams has taken safety measures that will keep all students and faculty safe. Roger Williams plans are consistent with how we protect staff and patients at St. Anne's Hospital. As a parent with three years of experience at Roger Williams, I recommend you contact Student Life Services to find out all the services they provide to help students. I have personally worked with the department on providing health care services to students in need of immediate care. I was so impressed with their student focus and they work, they put in to ensure the best possible care for their students when needed. Additionally, in the event your son or daughter have issues acclimating to their new environment early on, Student Life Services can bridge the gap and provide assistance to your son or daughter while allowing them to remain independent. From our experience with Colin, having Student Life Services manage your students' issues leads to better outcomes. Student Life Services is dedicated to providing the best college experience for all students. So with these brief comments, I encourage each of you to move boldly ahead on your path of new experiences. I wish each and every one of you good health and many future successes. Thank you very much for listening to me today. Thank you, Michael. We appreciate your participation in today's convocation. I wish to thank all of our speakers, particularly President Mialis and Provost Everett, for making the time today to share your excitement for the learning that lies ahead for all of our students. I want to thank the entering class, both first-year students and transfer students, for how engaged you have been this week in orientation programs and how respectful and caring you have been for all of your peers. This is a great start for our university during a very difficult and trying year, but a year in which our resilience together will help persevere and lead our university to a wonderful, wonderful academic year. Thank you very much and have a great afternoon.