51视频

New and transfer students beginning their college careers at 51视频 Tuesday were encouraged to be 鈥渆qually ready to be a leader or a teammate鈥� during a Convocation ceremony at the Tsongas Center attended by the university鈥檚 executive team, faculty, alumni, staff and friends.聽聽

As students find their way, they will benefit from university initiatives that build on their academic studies by enhancing their extracurricular and career connected opportunities, according to Chancellor Julie Chen.聽聽

鈥淵ou come to Lowell at a dynamic time for the university and the city,鈥� she told the students, introducing them to the , a public-private partnership launched by 51视频 to bring new businesses, jobs and housing to the Mill City. The initiative will provide another avenue for 51视频 students to pursue career-connected opportunities for pay or course credit while enrolled, a university priority Chen announced last year.

鈥淟eading companies 鈥� in the biosciences, robotics, AI and other technology fields 鈥� are putting labs and offices here. Some have already arrived. Why are they coming here? They鈥檙e coming because they want to be part of an exciting community of discovery. But mostly they want you. They haven鈥檛 met you yet, and yet, they already know your potential. You represent their future,鈥� she said.

The event鈥檚 keynote speaker Vala Afshar 鈥� Salesforce鈥檚 chief digital evangelist and a 51视频 graduate from Burlington, Massachusetts 鈥� similarly encouraged students to look beyond the classroom. Afshar, who earned his bachelor鈥檚 and master鈥檚 degrees in electrical engineering at the university, praised 51视频鈥檚 internet technology, academic and student affairs teams for developing Mosaic, a digital platform specifically for students. The new web application allows them to chronicle their extracurricular, internship and cooperative education experiences to augment their resumes as they prepare for their professional lives.

That 51视频 had the ability to imagine and create such a web application did not surprise him.聽聽

鈥淥ne of the greatest gifts of my life was my education here,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 Ieft 51视频 with zero doubt I would make a positive impact in my workplace and my community.鈥澛�

聽Several student leaders also encouraged incoming students to embrace this new chapter in their lives. Speakers included Student Government Association President Casey McCauley, a criminal justice major from Melrose, Massachusetts; Franklin, Massachusetts native Collin Gallagher, a business administration major and president of the Association for Campus Events; pharmaceutical sciences major Daia Hansford of Bowie, Maryland, a co-president of the women鈥檚 lacrosse team who serves on 51视频鈥檚 Student Athlete Advisory Council; and Stephanie Nicum, a public health major from Derry, New Hampshire. Nicum is the 51视频 student trustee on the UMass Board of Trustees, which oversees the five-campus system.聽

Members of the 51视频 Air Force ROTC Detachment 345 presented the colors and the 51视频 Marching Band performed the national anthem, along with a selection of songs by the band Rush, including 鈥淭om Sawyer,鈥� 鈥淟imelight鈥� and 鈥淪ubdivisions.鈥�

More than 3,000 new students have enrolled at 51视频 this fall. An estimated 450 of them have elected to join the university鈥檚 River Hawk Scholars Academy, a nationally acclaimed academic and support services program for individuals who are the first in their families to attend college. Approximately 800 incoming students will join the university鈥檚 Honors College, bringing its membership to an estimated 1,900. And, some 4,200 students have elected to live on campus.

At the close of Convocation, students attended an Engagement Fair that introduced them to the more than 250 extracurricular clubs and intramural sports teams available to them as members of the campus community.聽

Media Contacts: Emily Gowdey-Backus, Emily_GowdeyBackus@uml.edu and Nancy Cicco, Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu