Keene State Welcomes New Students

They came. They saw. They clapped.

Keene State faculty, staff and students as well as members from the Keene community lined Appian Way on Thursday morning, welcoming the College’s class of 2019 with a robust round of applause during Clap In, a welcoming tradition leading up to convocation, where new students are addressed by faculty and staff.

The procession, which included drummers, gonfalon bearers and “Hootie” the Owl, made its way down Keene State’s main street to an awaiting crowd eager to welcome the College’s newest students.

“It’s just so exciting to have this,” said Samantha McGee, a senior from Derry, NH and one of the gonfalon bearers. “By coming out and clapping, they’re showing their support for the new students, letting them know that it’s their home too.”

“I came out to support the new students and let them know that staff who are part of the physical plant is out here to help them,” said John Johannesen, a member of the College’s carpentry shop.

“I’m a new employee here, so it’s a new tradition for me,” said Jeff Maher, the College’s Title IX coordinator. “It’s fantastic that the school does this for the incoming students—this is a great way to welcome them.”

Keene resident and Cheshire Academy for Lifelong Learning (CALL) member Marcia Kayser and her grandson Silas were also on hand for the festivities. “It’s very important for us to work happily together,” she said. “We want to create a wonderful atmosphere for the students. We love having them here.”

Flashing smiles and waving to the crowd, the new students were very appreciative of the welcoming fanfare. “I’ve never experienced anything like this back in high school,” said Ashley Gage, an incoming student from Agawam, MA. “I was walking and looking around. I saw all the other students smiling and excited and I couldn’t help but smile. It was really cool. Everyone was so excited for us to be here.”

A freshman from Scituate MA, Cailei Ducrest, said it was nice to walk with her entire class for the first time while Mattie Chavez, a freshman from Portsmouth, NH, said the warm welcome really made him feel a part of the Keene State community. “Now I really feel like an Owl,” he said. “Hopefully I make it full circle and I can do that at graduation too.”

Following the procession, the new students made their way into Spaulding Gym for Convocation ceremonies.

Telling the students “that it’s a great day to be an Owl”, Kemal Atkins, the College’s vice president for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management told new students that the first year at Keene State is uniquely designed for them to be successful. “By being engaged and contributing to this vibrant campus at Keene State you will do what owls do—you will soar the four years you are here,” he said. “We have confidence in you, we have faith in you, and we know you’ll be successful.”

Student Body President Bobby Graham told the students his own poignant story about how he almost left Keene State before becoming hooked after orientation. “I quickly realized that this was an incredible institution where anybody who wanted to further themselves could thrive,” he told the students.

President Anne E. Huot also addressed the new students. In addition to welcoming the Class of 2019 to the Keene State family, she told them they were also gathering to celebrate the first event of their academic experience and that experience might change them. “We believe your encounter with college level learning will challenge and change your understanding of the world and perhaps yourself. You will become different,” she said. “We encourage you to let that happen. We believe this learning will not only contribute to your personal enrichment and professional success, but also to the betterment, to humanizing, and maybe even saving of a fragile and volatile world that we all share.”

Leaving the gym, the new students have begun their first phase of their education by entering to learn.