Students at the Freshman Induction Ceremony

Echoing themes from President Barack Obama's memoir, "Dreams From My Father," education professor Kevin Basmadjian urged freshmen to "put down your stakes and test your commitments" in his faculty address at the Freshman Induction Ceremony Aug. 28.

The book was the required summer reading book for freshmen and is part of the syllabus for the QU 101 seminar, The Individual in the Community. Basmadjian encouraged students to seek opportunities to learn both in and out of the classroom and to consider what it means to live in an intellectual community.

"Act and speak with courage, compassion, and commitment, and don't allow others to distract or discourage you. Find the confidence in yourself to disagree with others, to read widely and deeply, to drink coffee with your professors as you share ideas about our world and future. Ask more questions, attend more lectures, meet more people unlike you, develop new interests, challenge knowledge, act and speak with courage, compassion, and commitment," he said.

The ceremony marked the start of college life for the 1,620 students in the freshman class. Several hundred sophomores, juniors and seniors carried boxes and belongings over three days to help freshmen move into their residence halls.

The ceremony also included remarks by President John L. Lahey; Joan Isaac Mohr, vice president and dean of admissions; and junior Louis Venturelli, president of the Student Government Association and a political science major from Staten Island, N.Y. The freshmen also recited the student creed, "Live the Legend."

Venturelli encouraged freshmen to take advantage of opportunities at Quinnipiac and leave their mark. "Dream big, and give everything your best. Life is a gift, so use your spare time to achieve something for the greater good," he said.

"Go out and join some of our countless organizations that make such a great impact on our community. Take courses that you never thought you would take before. Study abroad. Give everything your best," Venturelli said.

Lahey welcomed the new students, calling them "the largest, brightest and most diverse class in Quinnipiac history." He also spoke about the University's three core values: high-quality academic programs, a student-oriented environment and a strong sense of community. "We're proud of our diversity here. We celebrate it. We're respectful of your individuality."

Freshman Kevin Stoddard of Lopatcong, N.J., says the academic offerings at Quinnipiac solidified his decision to attend. "I chose Quinnipiac because I really like program I'm in," said Stoddard, who plans to study accounting and finance.

Classmate Cassie McGovern, of Dumont, N.J., said she chose Quinnipiac in part because of the beautiful campus. "The people are also really nice," she said. A College of Arts and Sciences student, McGovern is considering the master's in education program.

Isaac Mohr's address included statistics for freshmen to learn about each other.

• 78 percent are from outside Connecticut
• Freshmen come from 31 states, Puerto Rico and 10 foreign countries
• 606 are men and 1,014 are women
• Freshmen have come from nearly 800 different high schools across the country
• 20 percent of the women are named Lauren, Alyssa, Nicole, Amanda, Jessica, Samantha, Alexandra, Emily, Jennifer, Katherine or Megan
• 20 percent of the men are named Michael, Matthew, Robert, Kevin, Ryan, Christopher, John, Daniel, Nicholas or Andrew
• 15 percent entered the School of Communications
• 25 percent entered the School of Business
• 32 percent entered the College of Arts and Sciences
• 28 percent entered the School of Health Sciences
• More than 25 percent plan to stay at Quinnipiac to earn a graduate degree

Watch a video of the ceremony on Quinnipiac's YouTube channel