Dr. Gill’s Address Focuses on Choices
Austin College’s 171st year is now underway with first classes complete following the pomp and ceremony of the Opening Convocation Wednesday evening. In the traditional event that has opened the College’s academic year for decades, new students proceed as a group into the site. The site is normally Wynne Chapel, under renovation this fall, so Mason Complex’s Sid Richardson Center, was the chosen locale.
Once new students were seated, members of the Class of 2020, robed in their graduation garb for the first time to mark their senior year at Austin College, proceeded to their seats. A colorful parade of regalia followed as the College faculty and the platform party took their seats, with President Steven P. O’Day bringing up the rear and College Marshal David Baker, professor of physics, bearing the College Mace.
Ceremony continued with music from the A Cappella Choir, led by Choral Director Wayne Crannell. President O’Day officially called the convocation to order, and senior Natalie Readnour offered the invocation.
The Investiture of the Class of 2023
College Registrar Eugenia Harris presented the Class of 2023 and transferring students for investiture, confirming students had met all admission requirements and been registered for classes. Dr. Beth Gill, vice president for Academic Affairs and dean of the faculty, welcomed the students on behalf of the faculty and spoke of the learning they would achieve in the next years. “The teaching/learning enterprise is based on a relationship of trust, hard work, and commitment,” she said. “Absolutely central to this is academic honesty.”
Gill then referred to students’ having signed the Academic Integrity Book following a workshop this week. Hunter Williams, Student Assembly president, presented the Academic Integrity Book from the entering class to President O’Day. With that, Gill announced the new students officially matriculated.
Presentation of the Class of 2023 Banner
Cynthia Heyn, Class of 1985 and president of the College’s Alumni Board, welcomed new students and encouraged them as members of ’RooNation to make all alumni proud. She called upon three members of the Class of 2023 to come forward to receive the class banner. “Each year, we invited the first student to commit to membership in the class to take part in this ceremony,” she said. “Tonight that is R’yn Ashlock of Wichita Falls, Texas. The second invitation to receive the class banner is based on a proud tradition—students who are following family members into RooNation. We had to call a tie as to who had the most connections, as these young men each reported nine ’Roo relatives here before them. She called upon Grant Gilbert of Sherman, Texas, and Jacob Meloni of Schertz, Texas. The three freshmen placed the 2023 banner on stage.
The Convocation Address
With the preliminaries completed, President O’Day returned to the podium to introduce the evening’s speaker, Vice President Gill, who had titled her address “Building a Better World: One Choice at a Time.”
As Gill returned to the podium, she welcomed all to the event, which she called a celebration—“welcoming our new students, cheering on the graduating class, and connecting with everyone in between who supports them!”
Thinking back to her own freshman experience, Gill said she recalled the questions as to whether she belonged, had she made the right decision. “I’ve learned a few things over the years having lived through that experience and many more,” she said. “To the new students I want you to understand this: you belong here! Whoever you are and wherever you are from, rest assured that this is your College and this is your time.”
She not only welcomed students but also asked for their help. “I want you to help me build a better world because, at the end of the day, the education you receive at Austin College is not merely a declaration to the world of what you now know, nor is it simply the key to a richer, more fulfilling life,” Gill challenged. “It is a call to action; it invests in you a responsibility to understand your place in the world—to feel, viscerally, the power you have to make a difference. Austin College is a place where you can realize your dreams, pursue your passions, and be curious about yourself and the world. It is also a place where you can pursue big, authentic, and relevant questions, address human, environmental, and societal challenges, and build a better world.”
Austin College allows its students to have choices, Gill told the group. “It is a luxury and a privilege to have choices, and here you actually do get to transform the world every day by your choices and your actions,” she said. “Small steps lead to big accomplishments. Life is about taking one significant, life-transforming step at a time.”
Offering specific challenges to the students present, Gill went on:
- Choose to say ‘yes’ and ‘collect the stamps’
Urging students to enjoy their journey and explore all the options along the way, Gill said the Austin College experience provides a perfect example. “Rather than a one-way ticket to a pre-determined destination, the Austin College educational experience becomes a ‘passport’—a collection of knowledge and experiences that prepare you to respond to unknown opportunities and challenges. I urge you to collect the stamps from all different places,” she said.
- Choose to get out of your comfort zone:
At Austin College, Gill said, students will find a remarkable mix of individuals and she invited her audience to make the choice to learn about one another. “What an opportunity to put yourself in the shoes of someone different; someone who grew up with different levels of privilege than you, someone who had to think about their own race or ethnicity every day, or who never had to think about it at all. To meet someone who grew up in a different kind of neighborhood or religion, or without much of any family,” Gill said. “Find out how their background shaped, and continues to shape, their choices. Connect and you will grow personally, socially, and intellectually—I promise.”
- Choose curiosity over fear:
“If there is one gift I could give to all of you it would be that your curiosity would always be greater than your fear,” Gill said. She said that being curious sometimes means being willing to risk failure until you get it right. “Failure is not only an option, it is sometimes the best option. … It can be hard to tell what’s a failure and what’s just something that is shifting your life in a different direction. The truth is, we learn as much or more from failure as we do from ‘successes.’”
- Choose action:
Gill quoted Leonardo Da Vinci, who said that “people of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them, but went out and happened to things.” She encouraged students to find what they love to do and do it, listing many opportunities available on campus and beyond that the students could “happen to.”
- Choose connection:
“Did you know that trees are interconnected beings and are only as strong as the forest that surrounds them?” Gill asked her audience. “The reasons are the same as for human communities: there are advantages to working together. The community provides the foundational support necessary for life to thrive. So, I challenge you to be an integral part of our community and be kind and supportive of one another. Connect to your passion, each other, the community, and the world.”
“We chose every single one of you extraordinary people to be a member of our family, and we are so excited and proud you chose us back,” Gill said to the students in the room. “You made the right move; this place will change you for the better and enable you to succeed in life and make a difference in the world.”
Alluding to an earlier story about another’s Outward Bound rock climbing experience, she closed, “So lean way back, take that step, hold the rope for each other, and let’s build a better world and keep creating this community together.”
Following the Convocation address, Dr. John Williams, chaplain, offered the Prayer for the Beginning of the Year, followed by a rousing, barbershop rendition of The Austin College Alma Mater by a faculty quartet made up of Daniel Dominick, music; Keith Kisselle, biology; Mark Hebert, philosophy; and Wayne Crannell, music. A benediction from Williams, the traditional choral response of The Lord Bless You and Keep You from the A Cappella Choir, and congratulations all around led those congregated on to preparation for the first day of classes the next morning.
Dr. Lisa Thomas, College organist, provided the prelude processional, recessional, and postlude for the convocation.
Austin College, a private national liberal arts college located north of Dallas in Sherman, Texas, has earned a reputation for excellence in academic preparation, international study, pre-professional foundations, leadership development, committed faculty, and hands-on, adventurous learning opportunities. One of 40 schools profiled in Loren Pope’s influential book Colleges That Change Lives, Austin College boasts a welcoming community that embraces diversity and individuality, with 46 percent of students identifying as persons of color. The residential student body of approximately 1,300 students and more than 100 expert faculty members allow a 13:1 student-faculty ratio and personalized attention. This year, the campus recognizes 100 years of co-education and has had several opportunities to recognize the history of women and accomplishments of current alumnae. Austin College is related by covenant to the Presbyterian Church (USA) and cultivates an inclusive atmosphere that supports students’ faith journeys regardless of religious tradition. Founded in 1849, the College is the oldest institution of higher education in Texas operating under original name and charter.