August 28, 2007
Queens, N.Y. -
Joined by administrators and faculty, Rev. Donald J.
Harrington, C.M., President of St. John’s University, welcomed
the Class of 2011 this afternoon at the annual New Student
Convocation held on the University’s Queens campus.
The students, including newcomers bused in from the Staten
Island and Manhattan campus locations, filed into Carnesecca Arena
to the tune of the St. John’s University pep band and were greeted
with an abundance of school spirit courtesy of the Red Storm cheer
and dance teams.
Photo Gallery
The incoming students were treated to a host of speakers,
highlighted by Rev. Harrington, C.M., who reminded them how quickly
time will pass and, before they know it, they will be adorned in
graduation robes receiving their degrees from St. John’s.
Dr. Julia A.
Upton, RSM, Ph.D., St. John’s University Provost, spoke of the
need to adapt to the changes of life as a college student, but
stressed the importance of utilizing the resources available at St.
John’s to enable the freshmen class to succeed.
Stacie N.C. Grant ’92C, kept the audience captivated with her
light-hearted, yet inspirational Keynote Address, in which she
touted St. John’s as the “Best University in the World.”
Grant, a past member of the University’s prestigious President’s
Society, provided the freshmen with some tips for success in
college, hints from not giving your professors excuses to getting
involved in the many extracurricular organizations within the
University, many of which she helped establish, and other resources
provided only by St. John’s.
The crowd broke into a cheer of “We Are…St. John’s” led by
junior John Kelly and senior Whitney Coleman, who worked in tandem
to share their experiences so far at St. John’s and once again
conveyed what seemed to become the event’s theme, getting involved
and giving back.
Following the formal Convocation, the students headed to DaSilva
Field for a “welcome fair” where they participated in various games
and activities and were given the opportunity to meet with members
of the University administration and faculty over lunch.
The New Student Convocation is held at the beginning of each
school year to introduce new students to the University as a
learning community, to the academic culture of St. John’s and to
our Catholic and Vincentian identity.