Hillsdale College Welcomes Freshman Class Of 2021
Incoming students and families gather for 2017 Freshman Convocation
Hillsdale, Mich. – Hillsdale College welcomed the incoming freshman class to campus August 27 at Freshman Convocation. During the ceremony, the 394 students gathered on the campus’s East Lawn and began their college careers hearing from Hillsdale College President Larry P. Arnn and taking the Freshman Pledge.
“What you know is there are some things you need to know—because everyone needs to know them to live a rich, happy and significant life,” said Dr. Arnn during the ceremony. “And we are here to teach you about those things. That’s what’s hard. It’s joyful, you’ll love it, but also hard. Get your boots on.”
The class of 2021 is one of the most academically qualified and geographically diverse classes in the history of the college. Incoming students boasted an average ACT score of 30.26 and represent more than 41 states.
The heart of the Freshman Convocation is the Hillsdale College Freshman Pledge, in which students commit themselves to “the pursuit of truth, the love of the good, and the cultivation of beauty, for the sake of our minds and hearts and for an ennobled society” and to “embrace the high calling of liberal education.” This pledge is a key part of helping students rise to self-government.
Others who welcomed the class of 2021 included Hillsdale College provost David M. Whalen, Katherine Scheu and Dustin Pletan, students from the graduating class of 2018, and college chaplain Rev. Adam D. Rick. The ceremony also featured a performance by the chamber choir directed by James A. Holleman.
The Freshman Convocation is the start of orientation activities during the first week of the 2017-2018 school year. Fall semester classes began for all of the college’s 1,543 students on Wednesday, August 30.