The crowd of Kansas State University freshmen chanted “let’s go Cats” repeatedly as they held up the Wildcat hand symbol and the marching band played.
To conclude new student orientation weekend, hundreds of freshmen came together in Bramlage Coliseum for a convocation and pep rally on Sunday to foster excitement for the coming year.
“Welcome to K-State,” student body president Caleb Stout said. “On behalf of past, present and future students, we are excited to have you here at K-State — the university hosting the number one quality of life in the United States.”
Andrew Smith, professor in the A.Q. Miller School of Media and Communication at K-State, spoke about the history of the convocation at K-State and its importance.
“Simply a bringing together of people — that’s what a convocation is,” Smith said during the event. “We are bringing you, the incoming class of K-Staters, together as you mark the very beginning of your college journey.”
This year’s class includes students from across 40 countries.
2012 graduate John Grice asked the students to recall when they remember realizing they were a Wildcat and said that is the first of many meaningful moments they would have at K-State.
“I tell you this because these are moments we share as a part of the K-State community,” Grice said. “The community that built me into the passionate, professional person and K-Stater I am today. While I am well on my way on this journey, I’m so jealous of where you are in this moment. I think I am just about as jealous as someone who is about to watch ‘Ted Lasso’ season one for the very first time because these moments matter.”
Stout said this is the best time to be a K-State student.
“Make the most of it, buckle up and take advantage of every opportunity as you embark on this journey of a lifetime,” Stout said. “We hope you are as excited as we are because it is a great day to be a Wildcat.”
University president Richard Linton spoke and explained that while he may not be here as often as he used to because of his recent cancer diagnosis, he believes in the capabilities of his team and the campus as a whole.
“Now I wish I could shake all the hands and meet all the people but it takes a team effort,” Linton said. “As you’ll soon find out, that’s what makes K-State so amazing. Our people and our community, when they work together and support one another, drives K-State forward. I experienced this truth recently with an unexpected health diagnosis.”
Men’s basketball head coach Jerome Tang showed support for the incoming class by giving them his cellphone number.
“I’ve got two kids on campus,” Tang said. “And I hope that a professor, someone else on campus will take an interest, see if they are having a good day or a bad day and be willing to put their arms around them or just talk to them and under that they are people. People away from home, probably for the first time, and they just need to notice that somebody cares about them.”
Each year the K-State Book Network selects a book for the freshmen class to read. This year’s book, “They Called Us Enemy” by George Takei, illustrated by Harmony Becker, is a graphic novel about the internment camps post-Pearl Harbor. The book recommendation came with a personalized video from the author.
“It is a very personal and true account about a time in our country which we need to discuss and understand — the mass imprisonment of Americans of Japanese decent during the second world war,” Takei said. “My family and I spent time in those camps and this is our story. I hope enjoy the book and I am excited to be visiting your campus.”
Takei said that he plans to visit K-State in September to talk about his book.
The convocation concluded with a celebratory pep rally and included teaching freshmen some of the school chants, an appearance by mascot Willie the Wildcat and members of the football, basketball and volleyball teams reminding students to fill the stadiums during games.
