Dear Adrian College,
In just a few short days, the class of 2021 will make its debut on campus! We will be greeted on campus by excited and energetic staff. Surely they are strategically placed throughout campus to help us learn to navigate our way, sort out the details of acclimating to college and possibly even to help our families wipe away their tears when they leave us behind.
However, it is when the excitement of move in day dies down and life becomes routine at Adrian, that the awesomeness of your responsibility to welcome us to college really begins to take light. The responsibility of serving as our surrogate parents and guardians as we, many of us for the first time, explore true freedom and test life with limitless boundaries.
We have chosen Adrian College to help us come together to embrace this next milestone as we continue to learn more about who we are, understand the world in which we live, explore our strengths, and stretch to compensate for our weaknesses.
In the words of Adrian College’s 17th President, Dr. Jeffrey R. Docking, he explains “Adrian College is firmly rooted in the traditions set forth by our first president, Asa Mahan, over 150 years ago. Today, we continue to strive to embody his vision of education as something accessible to men and women of all races and creeds.
It is this foundation that has evolved Adrian College into a place that fosters ingenuity, innovation, and growth.” Combined with our own traditions and values that helped us to reach Adrian in the first place, together, in a shared responsibility, I welcome you, Adrian College, to ensure you are committed to helping us to ultimately understand who we are, who we want to be, and who we will be in the future.
The beauty of a small liberal arts college is we are now choosing to live and learn among many who bring a multitude of family and cultural traditions to campus; each one unique. These many new nervous faces and families are now sharing in an emotional rite of passage and are forever connected.
We are counting on you, Adrian College, to help promise a learning environment where “We are driven to care for humanity and the world; learn throughout a lifetime; think critically; cross boundaries and disciplines; and develop creativity.” After all, is that not what college is all about?
So it with great anticipation and excitement that as a member of the class of 2021, I welcome the traditions of Adrian College that will unite us and challenge us. Whether it is surviving Core 101 and 102, hanging at the Caine Student Center, chilling at Arrington Ice Arena, I challenge you, Adrian College, to ensure all the students welcomed into the Class of 2021 have the opportunity to learn, explore, connect, and discover while on campus so every student will have the opportunity to reach their full potential.
Bulldog Proud,
Margaret Amory
