University Convocation | 2024

[Music] la la [Music] the [Music] [Music] the [Music] [Music] know hello and welcome to Zula Art Center please take a moment to silence and darken all cell phones and other electronic devices in case of emergency exits are located to the left and right of the orchestra and balcony and at the rear of the grand tier please note food and drink photographs and recordings of any kind are strictly prohibited if you need to leave during the presentation please use the rear doors thank you please stand [Music] the [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] la [Music] the [Music] [Music] [Music] the [Music] [Applause] [Music] Source of Life source of peace that which connects us all we celebrate those today all of you who have accepted the invitation to enter this community and undertake the joy and challenges of Higher Learning though you come from numerous locations throughout the world and numerous backgrounds you are here for one common purpose to learn but learning is more than what happens in the classroom or on the computer screen learning is what comes from connection conversation and curiosity learning is what comes when you join together to discover yourselves discover each other and create Community we are all created to be Unique Individuals but we are also part of a whole and so as we form this community of learning we must recognize that it is our individuality and uniqueness which creates the greater whole of which we become a part as we enter the Lehi Community as director of Jewish student life and Associate chaplain and I would like to welcome all of you here today and to remind all of you if you indeed need reminding that in our world today it's easy to focus on differences as disagreements that separate us but if we are truly a community then we will be there for one another no matter what we believe how we feel and what we are passionate about we will be there for one another as we continue to navigate this new world together and in the immortal words of Ted lasso which he erroneously attributes to Walt Whitman we will be curious and not judgmental not always an easy task but it's one which we must try to achieve may we take our curiosity and our compassion with us to create a stronger more vibrant and more car caring community and world may you be blessed as you continue on your way may you continue to grow from strength to strength from challenge to challenge and from Joy To Joy as you continue the best of the traditions of Lehi from the past and create even more and beautiful ones for the future amen you may be seated good morning morning I was with you all at Wingo last night so I know your volume C capacity so let's try that one more time good morning morning thank you um it's wonderful to be here with you today um I'd like to take a second to introduce myself my name is Katherine lavender and I have the privilege of serving as your inter and vice president of student affairs um and yesterday I told you that you were gathering for the first time as a full class um first of three times and today is the second time so welcome I love the Sea of brown and white and you're all looking very bright and eager to learn which is perfect for this occasion you might be interested in knowing what this occasion is what is University Convocation this is intended to set the tone for the Academic Year to reinforce lehi's values to foster a sense of community and to inspire you all to engage fully in your academic and personal growth so while your Lehi experience began yesterday today officially marked the start of the Academic Year this is the moment where the Lehi career you imagined begins to unfold as you embark on this journey remember that learning a growth will happen both in and out of the classroom as I said to your families yesterday Learning Happens everywhere the experiences you have the challenges you face and the people you meet will all contribute to your Learning and Development here many people on campus will talk with you about your learning through the lens of blueprint our Student Life curriculum and student Affairs all of our offices work with the goal of developing a community of curious and engaged Learners who understand and make themselves in the world better through thoughtful action Innovation and authentic care for yourself and others yesterday at the kickoff event you heard about the five foundations of blueprint which are designed to help you plan for and reflect on your Learning and Development Across your Lehi experience I encourage you to be thoughtful about the five foundations creative curiosity self-concept healthy connection critical Consciousness and strategic adaptability as you think about how you want to learn and grow across all parts of this experience at Lehi you'll meet many people who care about you your learning and your student experience you'll find those folks in countless places in classrooms dining Halls residence Halls campus involvement opportunities faculty office hours and up here on the stage you'll hear from several of those people this morning yesterday you placed your signatures on the University academic Integrity statement as is our tradition we compile the signatures and share them with the University president to S at this ceremony to Signal your commitment to and joining of this academic community so to move forward with this tradition I would now like to introduce Joe Hy lehi's 15th President he came to us from Dartmouth College where he served as Provost he's a proud Lehi alumnist from the class of 1982 please welcome President Joe Hy [Applause] the signatures of the class of 2028 thank you Katherine what a wonderful sight it is to look up and see all of you gathered in all of this brown and white and I hope that we and I will continue to see this kind of gathering engagement and Community Spirit at athletic events at Theater events at campus social events in the classroom and in everything that Lehi does it's truly wonderful to behold so thank you Katherine and good morning to each and every one of you above all Lehi is a community that values every member and the binder that I just received is a symbol of that Community a record of your arrival and a meaningful reminder of your presence welcome to each and every every one of you gathered here today as Katherine mentioned I am myself a Lehi alumnist and I too was once a Lehi student and I speak of being an alumnist almost as often as I speak of the Lehi of today and our aspirations for tomorrow I tell those stories not because I want to return to the Lehi of the past but because I am so impressed by the ways in which this university has changed and grown and by the pragmatic optimism that characterizes the Lehi Community your Lehi community of today and I tell those stories because on days like today I want you to know that I know exactly how you feel I remember arriving with my family behind tayor Jim as if it was yesterday meeting my Griffin in lower sense moving into kurs and wondering as the first in my family to go away to college what this was going to be like was I prepared would I fit in could I handle the academic challenge would I have the stamina to get up and down these Hills multiple times a day so trust me I have a sense of how these first weeks and months can feel a few days ago I asked some older students what advice they wish they had gotten when they first arrived one without hesitating said softly but very clearly don't be afraid to make mistakes my advice to you today is exactly that don't expect to have all the answers on day one don't for a moment believe that you are the only one who does not have things figured out I can tell you from my own personal experience in my own first year that is absolutely not true don't be afraid to try something new don't be afraid to make mistakes and in trying something new you're giving yourself license to stumble but you're doing so as part of a supportive Community this is why our our first year theme crafting our communities with care feels exactly right to me today at this moment in the world those of you who moved in yesterday experienced this Lehigh Community firsthand there were some 1,000 volunteers more volunteers than families moving in fellow students professors staff administrators even local alumni who came back and gave of their time who checked you in gave directions yelled pop that trunk at countless cars carried boxes danced chatted I heard you late into the evening and made it clear that you are welcome here as the newest members of the Lehi community and this theme of community is something you will hear me speak of frequently throughout your time at Lehi you'll also hear me speak of running and getting outdoors more on that in a minute and you'll hear me speak of our strategic plan inspiring the future makers our shared vision for where Lehi where your Lehi will go over the course of the next decade one of the core objectives of the Strategic plan is a Lehi education that gives every student every student the opportunity to be even more interdisciplinary in their education what I call radically interdisciplinary in pursuit of their learning and pursuit of their degree today is not the day to speak of this at length but let me note that we have four great under graduate colleges Arts and Sciences business engineering and health and each of you in this room and watching from an overflow space has gained admission to one of them I urge you I challenge you to experience all of them during your time here as students that will stretch you intellectually and it is through that stretching that you truly challenge yourself through that stretching that you gain exposure to ideas that you may not have previously considered it is through that stretching that you truly and genuinely learn now I mention this because some critics feel that we in higher education have lost sight of our purpose that we don't entertain opposing thoughts or consider New Perspectives as we enter this Academic Year those critics are watching waiting assuming the worst almost wanting us to stumble to confirm their existing negative views of the world of higher education personally I am proud of the ways in which our students Lehi students navigated challenging conversations last year they expressed their points of view in ways that were consistent with the principles of our Equitable Community while still acknowledging their classmates who held deeply different points of view at leh High We recognize that if we're shouting at one another we're shouting past one another and if we're shouting past one another then no one is listening no one is learning at Lehi we lead with listening and so class of 2028 that is my ask of you to lead with listening to be open to engaging in difficult conversations that might challenge your existing views but to do so without assuming our pror that you are right that moral superiority is on anyone's side that you do not need to consider respectfully the other perspective show everyone that in higher education at least here on this campus we can respect and we do respect differences of opinion that we lead with listening and that we show leadership by listening over the course of this year I'll do my best to meet as many of you as I can in as many ways as I can to listen to you to learn about your Lehi experience to understand your Lehi Journey one way not the only way but one way is starting next week I ask you to consider meeting me at the flag pole at 6:30 a.m. on Tuesday Mornings for a weekly form mile past the pre run and conversation yes we do talk while we run with students join us and encourage a roommate or friend to come along for those not ready to run or just not interested in running later this semester we'll schedule a walking version of this conversation or two and our runs and walks will often take us into Southside Bethlehem so let me simply end with a few words about your new home Lehi and South Bethlehem have grown up together their histories intimately intertwined over the past 150 plus years Bethlehem is a vibrant diverse and accessible city a city that just one month ago was inscribed on the UNESCO world heritage list for its Moravian settlements becoming just the 26th world heritage site in the United States joining Independence Hall the Statue of Liberty the Grand Canyon and 22 other sites of natural cultural and historic significance this this is great recognition for the city of Bethlehem as I have been saying to our alumni these past few months Lehi is a university on the move with exciting things happening and the City of Bethlehem is a place on the move with exciting things happening visit the shops and neighborhoods work with our community service office become a mentor in the local elementary and middle schools there are so many ways to engage and experience our city welcome to Lehi I look forward to getting to know so many of you in the next four years and I am excited to see you begin your Lehi Journeys today thank you and it is now my pleasure to invite the mayor of Bethlehem The Honorable Jay William Reynolds to the podium mayor [Applause] Reynolds thank thank you president hble let me start by saying something to you and that's congratulations you are here in these seats in a space that many of your peers throughout the country and throughout the world wish they could be it because of the opportunity in front of you but you have earned that opportunity an opportunity to be what you want to be you see a lot of people on the stage you're going to talk to a lot of professors you're going to interact with a lot of people over the next couple of years all of them will have accomplished a lot in their lives master's degrees phds articles and academic journals um success in business but you have something that all of us look to and are a little bit jealous of and that's the opportunity to start the story over again to write your own story to be who you want to be and what Lehi has done for Generations has provided people those opportunities you're going to have opportunities to hear from National political leaders National Business leaders talk to people over the next four years or however long you are connected to Lehi for many of you it'll be 40 5060 years and you'll see the leaders of America and the leaders of the world and some of you will be those leaders and president Hy is is correct and that Bethlehem and Lehi has grown up together and this is an incredibly exciting time for both Lehi and the City of Bethlehem we were in fact named a world heritage site just about a month ago I traveled to India um with several other local leaders to be a part of that process but our world heritage site is not about buildings it's about values it's about Concepts it's about the idea that we are a community and no matter where you go no matter what college you end up to no matter what business you're in no matter what neighborhood city state whatever it is that's the thing that we value the most as humans is that idea of community and you were coming to a community of people of professionals that want you to be able to write that story in whatever way you want to write it and you don't need to make every decision right now and I remember sitting in those seats just a few years ago and thinking to myself not these literal seats I went to Moravian but these seats like this and thinking that I was scared I was changing things were different I wasn't in the same room I used to be in I wasn't in the same school but I look back and also think that was the beginning of my own Journey my father came here 55 years ago also one of the first people in his family to go to college from New Jersey he met my mom who went to her neighboring College they got married just I think about two months after graduation I'm not suggesting doing that but they were happily married for for decades my wife came here she went to medical school she's a family doctor now I met her here in Bethlehem because she came to Lehi Lehi has provided our community with so much and you're going to provide this community and so many other communities with so much Bethlehem is a place on the rise we are consistently named one of the 100 best places to live we're the safest city in Pennsylvania we have a level of Economic Opportunity that you don't see anywhere else in America and you're going to have opportunity to be a part of that to interact president Hy and Provost Urban and everybody else here at leire doing a great job of giving you those practical opportunities to take advantage of those opportunities and as I said if there's one thing you remember and I realize you probably remember nothing that I said is today is the first day of that story of you to be able to take advantage of that opportunity and we do have things in Bethlehem that you will enjoy that you will become very familiar with things like the greenway and steel Stacks in Third Street and our restaurants and things like that and we are excited for you to be here but today is also about you it's not about me it's not about us it's about you you are starting the next stage in your journey about whatever you want to be and that's an exciting exciting moment it may not feel like that right now you may be nervous about something I remember that but Above All Else congratulations to you this is an opportunity for you welcome to the city of Bethlehem and it's going to be a great next four years thank [Applause] you thanks Willie welcome everyone welcome to the class of 2028 [Applause] I I have really just one message for you today that message is you belong here you belong here you belong here and we are here to support you it's you and the possibilities that we see in each and every one of you as makers of the future and makers of a better future that drive all of us we're honored to have you as new members of the Lehigh community Through the admissions process we chose you and you chose us so we chose each other the people on the stage The Faculty Deans Department chairs staff and University leadership and many many other people across this campus are committed to your success while you that success is your success while here at Lehi and into the future because the remarkable thing about being at a great University is that your success is our success we're in this together now sometimes college is seen as a somewhat competitive environment in which not everyone can succeed I want to change that attitude as part of our mission as a university we create a place where people learn as one of my former colleagues Mike Smith wrote in a recent book called the abundance University learning is not a scarce resource if I learn a lot that does not mean that you need to learn Less in fact if I learn a lot and we're friends you probably learn a little more because you learned some from me as well and so there's no reason to think of this as a zero sum game now you've probably all heard stories about college classes in which a professor says something like look to your left looked your right one of you is going to fail this class and not be back next year that is acting as if there's only so much knowledge that could be distributed across the classroom or maybe we're just worried about running out of chairs or something that makes no sense that cannot be our approach instead right now I want you to look at your neighbor on your left and your neighbor on your right like literally do this now shake each other hand fist bump or or do something introduce uce yourself all right and now I want you to commit I want you to commit to each other that you will help each other succeed because Success is Not Zero Sum I want you to commit to checking in occasionally to see how things are going or to reaching out to that other person when you start wondering if leehi is the place for you I want you to commit to supporting each other to make sure that all three of you walk across the stage at graduation in four years that's the commitment that I want you to make to each other today and I want you to commit to doing this regardless of potential differences or disagreements that may arise during your time at Lehi I ask that you always remember that in this game success for one is success for all and this actually goes back to the Latin origins of the word compete which originally meant to strive together I'm so excited to see what your class will do here at Lehi and Beyond in a few years one a member of your class after two failed startups sells her new regenerative AI company for a billion dollars or when a member of your class designs a new technology for predicting and preparing for super hurricanes and saves hundreds of thousands of lives or when a member of your class becomes an ex mayor of Bethlehem in a few years not no competition one um that will be a success for those Lehi alums but it will also be a success for the Lehi Community for the faculty who mentored her and for the and and for the University now the great thing is that it's my job it's our job to help you make that future that's a great job and the key to making those kinds of successes happens is the fact that your goals and the university goals universities goals are aligned your success is our success now as you take that Journey it's important to remember that not everything will go smoothly you will experience challenges in fact challenges and even failure are part of the plan your faculty will will challenge you intellectually to do more to work harder and and be more creative than you have ever been before life will also be a source of challenge every Lehi student has moments in which they question how or whether they can rise to the occasion they have and you will and we will support you in those efforts and so will your neighbors from convocation so Embrace that challenge enjoy the success the successes that you will have learn from your failures and support your neighbors and remember you belong [Applause] here I am now pleased to introduce a special performance by our University choir they will be performing glorious Lehi under the direction of conductor Sunman Lee the choir has prepared the song with great care and enthusiasm please join me in welcoming our University choir [Applause] [Music] who unfolds us to of [Music] [Music] we will sing [Music] [Music] pra the Will Shine Tonight the will shine sh tonight [Music] sh the we live and Christ for the and and this is the [Music] [Applause] [Music] we shine tonight will shine when the sun go down and the Moon [Applause] [Music] together [Music] youres [Music] [Applause] [Applause] thank you to our University choir for that beautiful performance of Glorious Lehi let's give them one more round of applause right if you all will please stand at as Imam Tariq Amir offers the benediction and remains standing for the alma mater immediately following as we prepare to exit the ceremony for today we pray that this will be a time of reflection we pray that this will be a time of great benefit for all who are here that we pray that the words that were spoken today will resignate and that you will look at yourselves today look at yourselves today and as you go through your tenure here at Lehi and see how you develop how your views may change how your thinking May develop how your hearts will go through different times and situations that will shape you in your future and we pray that here at Lehi that we will help to be a means of developing that that we will help to nourish your intellects such that things that you did not know before you will come to know things that you may have already known that they will be developed and enhanced and that your hearts will also be developed such that you will be a people who will not just be a benefit for yourselves but a benefit for the Lea community and also the greater World community and that you will be of those who can contribute to all of the different facets of life that we may be heading into and so we pray that this will be a time of great benefit that this will be a time that you will have that will shape the rest of your life and we pray again that we here at Lehi will be only a means of helping and assisting you in that and that at any point in time if we are able to assist you that you'll be more than willing in fill free to reach out to any of us here at the Lehi University and we welcome you to this great community and we wish you all the best and we pray that whatever is best for you and whatever capacity that you granted that and even more and that you are given the best of all that you Endeavor to do and that you will be a beaking of light in any place around the world such that if there's ever a place of Darkness that you'll be a source of guidance guidance for those around you amen [Music] has Rocky from [Music] the the of of mountain against the [Music] a on [Music] the secet [Music] she [Music] from [Music] eses while we bless thee we [Applause] [Music] [Applause] will to [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] joyfully we cry to [Music] [Applause] [Laughter] [Applause] this concludes the 2024 University Convocation please remain standing while faculty recess out [Music] till [Music] all right I am going to miss you in an orderly fashion off to your college welcomes Andor lunch so if I could first have uh my integrated business and engine and Engineering folks are going to go to steps 101 and my computer science and business are headed to Packard 466 and then let's go ahead and have the College of Business Neville one and Neville two so integrated business and Engineering you are looking for my orientation Leaders with a blue foam finger and they are going to take you over to steps 101 computer science and business you are looking for pink it's a headset pcker 466 and College of Business you are looking for orange for Neville one and Neville two my