Muskingum University first-year students were welcomed as members of the class of 2027 during the Opening Convocation ceremony on Aug. 18. The ceremony was held at the Anne C. Steele Center at 3 p.m.
Brad DeHays ’02 served as the convocation speaker. He challenged students to not be afraid to fail.
“You’re young and naive. You have to make mistakes full-speed…. You’re going to fail. It’s OK. …one thing that I can always say is, ‘failure is not a problem, but it can be a problem. Failure is contagious, as is success. The difference between contagious failure is how people deal with it,'” said DeHays.
New Concord Mayor Jennifer Lyle also welcomed students to Muskingum and the Village of New Concord. Lyle encouraged students to attend the village-wide Community Day on Sept. 2.
Muskingum Student Senate President Alex Burton received the Key of Knowledge from Provost Dr. Jennifer Dugan. Student Heather Dawson sang the alma mater, “All Hail Muskingum.”
Chaplain Derek Wadlington delivered the invocation, challenging students to introduce themselves to him as he is also beginning his first year on campus. Wadlington said the Muskingum community is glad to have the incoming students on campus and they believe in their success.
Many events are planned for students during Welcome Weekend. Muskingum’s undergraduate classes begin Monday, Aug. 21.