SMC Kicks Off New School Year with Big Welcome

Jeremy Handel

Staff Writer

SMC knows how to roll out the welcome mat!

First-year resident students got a big hand – many hands to be exact – with moving into their residence halls, and Convocation officially opened campus for the year. In total, more than 500 new students joined SMC this year, including nearly 100 online students.

Approximately 230 first-year resident students and their families were welcomed to campus by a swarm of faculty, staff, and student-athletes, who jumped into action and helped them get moved into their residence halls.

Dozens of campus volunteers, including members of the volleyball, soccer, and cross country teams, helped them unload their vehicles and move their items into the dorm rooms. Families already nervous about their student moving out were put at ease with the smiling faces and reassuring conversations.

The move-in day tradition is just one way that SMC shows families and students that they made the right decision on where to go to college.

A couple of days later, all new students got their formal welcome when they attended Convocation and took their honor pledge. Convocation is the traditional start to the new school year. This year, approximately

As part of the ceremony, students were welcomed by SMC alum and current Board of Trustees Member Clint Settle (‘05).

“When I graduated from high school, I wasn’t prepared to go to college,” he said. “Some friends convinced me to go to SMC, and it changed my life.”

Settle told the students how he found a community at SMC. Not just among friends and peers, but among the faculty and staff as well. He emphasized getting to know the faculty, leaning on them to learn and grow, and taking advantage of their experience and expertise.

“One of the things that helped me most is the love and support of the people behind me,” Settle said about the faculty on stage. “This place has everything you need to succeed; you just have to ask for it. Do everything you can with what you have, and you will win. Welcome to the team!”