Adrian College Class of 2028 surpasses 600 new students
Posted Monday, August 19, 2024
Author: Mickey Alvarado
Adrian College’s campus was bustling with activities as hundreds of students returned during Welcome Week, beginning Sunday, August 18, for Move-In Day and Matriculation.
Six hundred and three new students were welcomed by Adrian College faculty and staff during this year’s matriculation ceremony in Dawson Auditorium. Twenty-seven states, 16 countries and five Canadian Provinces are represented in Adrian College’s incoming freshmen Class of 2028.
Adrian College has had an incoming class of 600 or more new students each year for the past eight years. Its overall enrollment is over 1,800 students going into the 2024-2025 academic school year.
“Matriculation ceremonies are designed to celebrate transitions,” Andrea Milner, Adrian College Vice President and Dean of Academic Affairs, said during the ceremony. “This transition recognizes that our outstanding freshmen class is transitioning from home to a new home, from high school to college, from teen years to adulthood.”
A majority of this year’s class hail from Michigan with 442 students staying in the state.
Forty-nine of the freshmen students are from Lenawee County with students (28 males, 21 females) from Addison (1), Adrian (14), Blissfield (3), Britton Deerfield (2), Clinton (4), Hudson (1), home-schooled (1), Lenawee Christian (1), Madison (8), Morenci (2), Onsted (5), Sand Creek (3) and Tecumseh (4).
Eighteen of the new Bulldogs are Legacy students with family members who are Adrian College alumni.
“Thousands of high school seniors from around the nation, and indeed the world, hoped to attend Adrian College this fall, and we wanted you — the most accomplished among them,” Frank Hribar, Adrian College Vice President of Enrollment and Student Affairs, told the students. “This is our day to celebrate you, our incoming class, and the talent, intellect and aspirations you bring to our community.”
Ohio has 48 students coming to Adrian while Indiana has 19, Illinois, 13, Florida, six, Texas, five, Virginia and Wisconsin, four each, California and Georgia, three each, Arizona, Montana, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Tennessee, two each, and Arkansas, Colorado, Hawaii, Kansas, Massachusetts, Missouri, Nevada, and Washington DC, one each.
There are also 36 international students from 10 countries, including Australia (1), Canada (21), France (1), Ghana (3), Hungary (1), Jamaica (2), South Africa (1), United Arab Emirates (1), United Kingdom (3) and Zimbabwe (2).
“For those of us on this stage, today is one of the most exciting days of the year. We love to see the wonder and anticipation in the eyes of our new students, as you anxiously await all the amazing experiences that will define your college years,” Adrian College President Jeffrey Docking said. “You stand today students on the threshold of a magical time in your life, a time of significant growth, introspection, self-awareness, challenge and opportunity, a time that you will always look back on as special years, never experienced before you arrived today, and never replicated after you leave college. You will make incredible friends here that you will cherish the rest of your life and meet professors who will impact you so profoundly that you will make great efforts to come back for homecoming year after year just to say thank you one more time.”
During Welcome Week (Aug. 18-23), students check in and meet faculty advisors and student leaders. Along with a mandatory placement testing, a course scheduling session, and various advising sessions on everything from financial aid to time management, the new students will participate in events such as a Community Plunge, where they volunteer at a variety of service locations in Lenawee County. At the end of the week, the large freshmen class will have a group photo taken to commemorate their new beginning at Adrian College before closing out the week with a trip to Cedar Point.
Aubry Morgan, Adrian College’s Student Government Association President, told the incoming class to not dwell on the past but instead think of the school year as a fresh new start and to make new memories, try new things, and set and achieve new goals.
“Students, as you take your first steps onto Adrian College for the 2024-2025 academic year, I hope you remember to cherish every moment you have created, or will create, at this institution,” Morgan said. “Adrian College is more than just a private college; it is a home away from home. Here at Adrian, there is a community full of students, faculty, and staff that can provide you with the opportunities you need to succeed… I hope you come into this academic year with the mindset to achieve greatness and success.”
To view the matriculation ceremony, go online to youtube.com/watch?v=46Fw7PEJ0nw.
