“你的教授, your peers, your family members and your loved ones are all here to support you for these next four years and beyond,布莱恩·奥. Hemphill, Ph值.D.他告诉学生们. 大卫·B. 霍林/ ODU
Featured speaker Scott Shellstrom urged students to "get out there and release your inner da Vinci.大卫·B摄. 霍林/ ODU
作者:Harry Minium
有喜剧. 有视频. Yes, bet8体育娱乐入口's 28th annual new student convocation, 周五下午在查特威体育馆举行, 非常有趣, said some of the several thousand freshmen who attended.
But freshman Austin Fairbanks from Charlottesville had another take.
"It was inspirational," said Fairbanks, the first in his family to attend college.
Perhaps the most inspirational moment came when new ODU Brian O总裁. Hemphill, Ph值.D.，要求所有第一代学生起立. 数百人了.
President Hemphill told the students a little about his life. 他在春天希望的乡下长大, 北卡罗莱纳, 罗利以东约45分钟车程, 在附近的圣. 奥古斯汀的大学, a small, private institution and one of the nation's Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).
他也是第一代学生, with all the same emotions and fears that most standing were likely experiencing.
“我想让你们每个人都知道, 当我站在同样的地方, 我很紧张, 既兴奋又有点害怕," he said. "These are the many emotions that you may be feeling as a first-generation college student.
"But at the same time, I was determined - determined to learn, to grow, to succeed. With the help of the university family and my immediate family, I did just that. I am confident that you will attain the same sense of accomplishment right here at bet8体育娱乐入口."
ODU has been ranked among the nation's best institutions for graduating first-generation students. The University has invested in resources to help students graduate and thus improve their social mobility. The University has a 学生成功中心 that provides tutoring and mentoring for first-generation students.
Everyone on the stage offered encouragement for each student who began classes Saturday.
That included Scott Shellstrom, the featured speaker. The author of four books whose inspirational videos have more than 35 million views, 谢尔斯托姆告诉学生们，他有阅读障碍, a learning disability that wasn't diagnosed until he was in college.
Students teased him for being "stupid" in elementary school. In high school, he was told he wasn't applying himself.
It destroyed his self-esteem until he learned in college that dyslexia can be overcome and that some geniuses, 比如阿尔伯特·爱因斯坦和艾萨克·牛顿, 可能有阅读障碍.
"Just like that, it changed my perspective," he said. “我不再愚蠢、懒惰和有学习障碍. 我很有天赋."
他在演讲结束时说:“今天, you are about to go forward and face the toughest challenge you have ever face. 走出去，释放你内心的达芬奇."
With that, Shellstrom took a brush in hand and painted a depiction of "Mona Lisa," the master creation of Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci.
他把它画反了, 也许只有患有阅读障碍的人才能做到, 然后把它翻过来.
人群欢呼起来。. Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Austin Agho said Shellstrom's presentation moved him, 然后动情地对学生讲话.
“这是你们的时代，”他说. “发现自己. 结交新朋友. 多问问题.
“这是你的空间. 你们赢得了来到这里的权利."
唐Stansberry, vice president of student engagement and enrollment services, 哪个关注学生的活动和成功, said, “有时候你会面临挑战. 你会有失败的时候.
"And, as a Monarch, we step up and face our challenges and overcome them. 我们在这里帮助你一路走来. Don't be afraid to ask for help or make a new friend."
President Hemphill spoke to ODU's status as one of the most diverse universities in the nation and how the student body has changed to reflect demographic changes in America.
He asked students to stand as he called out different majors, and it was evident there is a diversity in interests as well, 从教育到艺术再到科学.
Most students appear to have come to ODU with a major in mind, 包括安妮·牛顿, a freshman from Baltimore who will major in criminal justice and hopes to become a forensic scientist. 她对ODU印象深刻.
"President Hemphill seems very approachable and had a great message," she said. “我真的很享受在ODU的时光. 它不太大也不太小. 我爱校园."
Armonte迪克森, a freshman from Accomack County on the Eastern Shore, 他说他觉得毕业典礼会很无聊, 但他说这绝不是.
"It was great to meet all of the people there and to hear from University officials," he said. "The fact that our president is a first-generation student is going to give some of us that extra oomph to get where he is."
With students still standing, President Hemphill said, "I want you to look around the room. I want you to know this is fundamental to what ODU is all about, getting you up on your feet and engaged in your education.
“你是我们在这里的原因. You are the reason that we chose to work in higher education. 现在，你该找到你的理由了.
“请记住，在这段旅程中，你并不孤单. 在任何情况下, should you give up on pursuing your degree here at ODU without allowing us to help you fight for it. 你的教授, your peers, your family members and your loved ones are all here to support you for these next four years and beyond."
