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Fall Semester 2021: Write Your Own Story

Freshman Convocation caps off a memorable first day of UVU’s 80th anniversary year

By UVU Photo

August 24^th, 2021

Students, faculty, and staff flooded the halls of Utah Valley University’s Orem Campus as fall semester began on August 23, 2021, culminating with Freshman Convocation, the biggest in-person event held at UVU since before the COVID-19 pandemic.

The evening also marked the first official event celebrating 80 years since the university’s inception in 1941.

Fall Semester 2021: Write Your Own Story

Thousands of new UVU freshmen — young and slightly less young — packed into floor seats (every student was welcomed back by being told "We saved a seat for you") in the UCCU Center, overflowing into the stands, and their parents and families cheered them on as members of UVUSA, teams of student leaders, and President Astrid S. Tuminez welcomed them into the Wolverine family.

The opportunity of education, and especially the UVU experience, was a common theme of the evening’s celebration.

“Do not listen to the voice in your head that says you can’t do it,” President Tuminez said. “Write your own story. I believe in you.”

President Tuminez invited several students and alums to join her on stage, including Ben Perkins, a former UVU soccer player-turned-entrepreneur who launched the shirt company &Collar; Marquita Valdez, who overcame 17 years in prison and a substance addiction to study criminal justice at UVU and launch a nonprofit called Breaking Barriers Utah; and Tori Hooper, one of four UVU students to receive a prestigious Station1 fellowship started by professors from MIT.

Sonic Exchange, a performing group from UVU’s commercial music program, played several songs for the audience of new Wolverines and supporters, including a special arrangement of the UVU fight song. At the end of the performance, attendees flocked outside for barbeque and free admission to the UVU women’s soccer match against Northern Arizona.

Earlier in the day, the UVU leader sent a welcome message to students as many returned to campus in person for the first time in over a year. “Today is a new beginning,” she wrote. She shared a quote which she repeated at Freshman Convocation, from The Gift by Edith Eger: “Change is about interrupting the patterns and habits that no longer serve us.”

“As you look to your goals of academic success, personal well-being, and social connection, remember that you are capable of all the good change you want in your life,” President Tuminez wrote.

As students re-familiarized themselves with a UVU campus that has seen several renovations and upgrades since 2020 — some of which are ongoing — President Tuminez and university leaders roamed the halls handing out candy, or “health food,” as Tuminez described it, “but only on the first day. After that, it’s celery sticks.”

Several students mentioned the excitement and nerves of being back on campus in person.

“This is my first time having an in-person class since 2018,” said Patrick Fletcher, a freshman studying applied communication. “It’s a little nerve-wracking because I feel like we have lost touch with other humans due to all the Zoom classes.”

“This is my first time on campus,” said Jared Nelson, a sophomore studying aviation. “It’s exciting, and it feels good to be back in school.”

“It’s my first year here, so it's really exciting, and it’s nice that COVID is slowing down and things feel more normal,” said freshman Jill Morrison. “But I still have my mask.”

“I am excited to be back and that things feel a bit more open, and I’m excited to have a little more action in my classes now that we’re in person again,” said Sarenity Castaneda, a junior majoring in dance.

Footnotes

Photos by August Miller and Isaac Hale, text by Layton Shumway

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FootNotes

Photos by August Miller and Isaac Hale, text by Layton Shumway