Convocation is one of only three occasions in which the whole class comes together — the other two being Hey Day and Commencement.
The ceremony opened with an invocation by University Chaplain Chaz Howard on the theme of change. Howard urged students to “choose not only to impress, but also to inspire.”
Penn President Amy Gutmann congratulated incoming students for standing out in “the most crowded field in Penn’s 271-year history.”
Of 26,938 students who applied to Penn last year, 155 transfer students and 2,420 freshmen officially became members of the community last night.
Gutmann encouraged students to pursue their passions with purpose by following in the footsteps of fellow students and alumni.
She highlighted Hydros Bottles — the first reusable filtered water bottle, designed by two 2009 Penn alumni — as an example of “putting knowledge into practice for the good of humankind.”
“Penn’s dreamers are the world’s doers,” she added.
Penn Alumni President Lee Spelman Doty also highlighted recent College graduates Abdi Farah, who won the reality TV show Work of Art: America’s Next Great Artist, and Joshua Bennett, who recently released his first single, as students who truly took ownership of their experience at Penn.
Quoting William Shakespeare’s As You Like It, Gutmann said, “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players.”
“The role you play is limited only by your imagination,” she added.
College sophomore and transfer student Ansley Sawyer said that although Shakespeare’s quote is often thought of as a cliche, it spoke to her personally.
“I thought the speeches were beautiful,” she said. “Theater is my passion, so it seemed fitting. It felt like she was speaking to me.”
This year’s convocation ceremony was accompanied by performances from a capella groups The Inspiration and The Glee Club.
As the sun descended, College Hall was lit up in red and blue.
“College Hall is a very beautiful building, especially lit up. It is very Disney-esque,” College freshman Benjamin Bloomberg said.
He found Convocation to be a great culmination to New Student Orientation.
“I liked hearing from the leaders at Penn that it’s okay that I don’t know what I want to do yet and that I can explore all my options,” he said.
