By DAVID DUPONT
BG Independent News
When Heidi Gasser, the president of Undergraduate Student Government, attended convocation as a first year student, she saw the then president of Undergraduate Government speak.
She thought: “It would be so cool if that were me one day.”
On Thursday night it was. Gasser introduced the event and each of the speakers.
BGSU held convocation on the Bowen-Thompson Quadrangle for what President Rodney Rogers said was the most academically prepared and one of the largest classes in the university’s history.
The event was a pep rally. The Falcon Marching Band — with 425 members the second largest marching band in the nation — was even there to boost the school spirit.
But convocation isn’t to cheer on an athletic team on the verge of a sports contest. Convocation is meant to pump up the Class of 2028 and inspire them to do their best and achieve their goals.
Students, faculty, staff, and administrators all spoke to drive home the message that students should take advantage of all the opportunities BGSU has to offer.
Will McLean, a senior at BGSU, said back in August, 2021 when he had just moved onto campus he was experiencing a rush of emotions. He’d just moved two-hours from home, away from his family. He was he indicated an fairly average student,
Then during convocation, he realized that he not only could imagine being a student leader addressing the crowd, but he wanted to be that leader.
When McLean attended Campus Fest a couple weeks later, encouraged by bonus points offered by a professor, he found his path. McLean met someone who became a close friend and mentor and introduced him to the fraternity he would join, and now serves as president.
As Stacey Allan, associate director for student engagement, said McLean found his people.
She said she enjoys strolling campus in the evenings and witnessing students working and playing together. Whether the Black Student Union or Greek Organizations, or the saber club or Lots of Love members writing letters to kids, these students have found a place at BGSU. This shows, Allan said, that “folks from a variety of interests can be together in an environment showcasing their authentic selves.”
There is plenty to choose from, Allan said. BGSU has 380 student organizations. “Joining any will enhance your experience regardless of the organization’s focus,” she said.
Allan urged students “to say yes” to some activity at least once a week as the semester begins.
Professor Sherona Garrett-Ruffin said these more informal experiences are “just as powerful and meaningful as your classroom activities.”
Interim Provost Glenn Davis urged students to remain curious. He quoted J.R.R. Tolkien’s advice to keep one’s eyes open to the familiar. “Always be an active participant in this experience.”
Garrett-Ruffin told students never to simply “check off a box.”
She told of a student taking her course in psychobiology to fulfill a requirement. He could have done a run-of-the-mill project for the class, she said, but he had a passion for acting.
So, instead he focused his project on how actors change the way they adjust how they react physically to match the emotions they need to project in a role.
“By doing that he learned about psychobiology, learned how to do research, and learned about his passion.”
The student ended up with an accomplishment that enhanced his resume and won a research award.
Rogers spotlighted the Total Solar Eclipse Watch Party that was held on campus. Hundreds of students, he said, were involved in organizing the event on the day of the eclipse and the extensive programming that led up to it.
“These are the kinds of experiences that we think that each of you have a chance to experience at Bowling Green,” he said.
Rogers took the occasion to bestow the President’s Award for Public Good to the two faculty members, Kate Dellenbusch and Andrew Layden, who spearheaded BGSU’s solar eclipse programming.
BGSU will offer more paths than students can follow, and more opportunities than they can take advantage of.
To make the most of what’s available, students need to ask questions, be bold, and take action.
Further, they should do all these things “with deep respect for others,” he said, “Be kind.”
