At the beginning of each school year, thousands of students, faculty, staff and administrators gather together at the New Student Convocation event. It is an opportunity to formally welcome first year students to the university and provide an introduction to the campus community. Your students will be greeted by and hear from current students, alumni, and key stakeholders of the university who share a collective voice of a community that cares for and is focused on student success. This year, for the 2021 event, we are excited to be back together in person in Bill Snyder Family Stadium!
New Student Convocation 2021 will be Sunday, August 22, 7:00-7:45 pm, followed by the pep rally. Please encourage your students to get there early when the gates open at 6:30 pm to grab some free refreshments and find their seats in the stadium. Our theme for this year is “Your K-State Journey Starts Now”, and we hope that after the evening’s event your students will see how they belong at K-State, learn a little about our university’s history and traditions, reflect on the power of getting involved, and think about what their goals for college life might be.
K-State First also has some ideas to help you be a part of your student’s community building practice during this important occasion. We encourage you to watch the recording of the event that will be available at www.k-state.edu/convocation afterwards to share in this powerful moment of K-State campus life. There is also an opportunity to move beyond watching, to process, create meaning, and build community. Below are some discussion questions you may use to be part of and encourage your students’ engagement with Convocation.
• What is a comment or point that resonated with you about the Convocation message?
• Student Convocation speakers described their experience as leaders, both formally and informally across campus; what excites you about the opportunity to lead or be the change during your time at K-State?
• Student speakers also talked about seeking support when things got tough. What resources do you feel like would help you during your first semester and why? What might you do if you get stuck?
• Many of the speakers described the challenge of navigating college living, learning, and engagement, what tools do you have to help to help you approach college adaptively and navigate uncertainty?
You can also join in on the conversation during the event by connecting to our Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter accounts @kstatefirst. We look forward to having you be a part of this momentous event to kick-off your students’ college experiences!