President Ted Carter Jr., USG President Bobby McAlpine speak at 2024 Convocation ceremony

Ohio State welcomed its freshman class of Buckeyes — estimated to make up at least 9,000 students as the largest class in the university’s history — at Convocation Monday, the book-end ceremony to Commencement.

After the Ohio State University Marching Band finished its round of upbeat songs as the freshman class filed in, Melissa Shivers, senior vice president for Student Life, opened Convocation with a lesson about how connected Ohio State is as a community.

“Have no doubt when you call ‘O-H-,’ you will indeed get the response of ‘I-O,’” Shivers said. “There is something very comforting in that. It means that we are connected and part of a larger and stronger entity. It means we are family. The other thing about the ‘O-H-I-O’ chant is that you simply cannot do it alone.”

Shivers said a strong community is important to have during a time of division.

“Showing respect and human kindness is increasingly important and expected as we go through a point in time where there is, unfortunately, a lot that can divide us,” Shivers said. “With six campuses, tens of thousands of students, faculty and staff — not to mention more than half a million alumni in the world — we’re also a very big family. It’s always easy to find a fellow Buckeye.”

Shivers said data shows that students who are involved on campus succeed during college and in life at higher rates.

“Students who are involved in co-curricular activities are significantly more likely to have relationships with other Ohio State students and faculty, to feel like they are a part of the Ohio State community, to report that they have developed as a leader during their time at Ohio State, compared to peers who were not engaged,” Shivers said.

Shivers also said those who are involved on campus, especially as organizational leaders, are three times more likely to be considered for a job and are rated as 18% more career-ready by prospective employers.

After Shivers closed her speech, Sabrina Durso, president of the Council of Graduate Students, took to the microphone. Durso’s speech included encouragement to pursue research and hone teaching skills, likewise touching on what the Council of Graduate Students can offer to Buckeyes.

“We are the officially recognized Graduate Student Government at Ohio State, representing over 11,000 graduate students and more than 200 degree programs,” Durso said. “We offer tens of thousands of dollars each year in travel and professional development grants, we put on an annual research symposium for hundreds of Ohio State graduate students and postdoctoral scholars and we actively participate in the shared governance of this university, lending our voice and our advocacy to ensure that the graduate student experience at Ohio State is the best it can be.”

As a graduate teaching associate in the English department, Durso said she has seen the “curiosity that exists” in undergraduate minds.

“I’ve witnessed how you are all capable of engaging in productive discussions that result from listening and learning from those who share differing perspectives than your own,” Durso said. “Magic lies in how these discussions hold compassion and empathy, can lead to innovative research, impactful advocacy and worthwhile experiences long after semesters end.”

Durso introduced university President Ted Carter Jr. to deliver his words of advice to the crowd, which centered around Ohio State’s opportunities, increased safety resources and promotion of civil discussions.

“Ohio State’s size, scale and scope, along with our affordability, gives you opportunities that few schools can match and an advantage that will last you a lifetime,” Carter said.

Carter went on to discuss safety, saying the university is “committed to fostering safe and supportive campus environments.”

“Safety is our number one priority,” Carter said. “It’s an area we will always focus on and something we should all keep top of mind as we start the semester. The university has resources to support you in this space. I hope you’ll learn about them and use them when you need to. I also hope you’ll learn about and honor the laws and university rules and standards designed to keep all of us safe and ensure we can learn and discover, as we all came here to do.”

Carter said Ohio State will not only challenge students academically, but also engender difficult discussions or disagreements.

“You’ll also be challenged to engage with new ideas and new points of view, to think critically and sometimes disagree respectfully,” Carter said. “One of the great strengths of Ohio State is the incredible range of backgrounds and perspectives we bring together. It gives us opportunities to expand and deepen our understanding of the world. This diversity also means that events across the globe and close to home affect the members of our community differently and deeply. So as we share our views, it’s important to do so with civility and respect.”

Carter said the university is launching a new program — titled Listen. Learn. Discuss. — which is a “centralized resource to help us develop skills that promote civil discourse while providing opportunities to practice that.”

The penultimate speaker at Convocation was Molly Ranz-Calhoun, president and CEO of the Ohio State Alumni Association. Ranz-Calhoun encouraged students to spend their time at Ohio State wisely.

“Get involved,” Ranz-Calhoun said. “As the president and Dr. Shivers talked about, we have student organizations. Learn a new skill, learn how to play an instrument or a new language. You’ll meet people who will share your passions and foster firm friendships that will last a lifetime. Take advantage of the academic resources available to you, delve into subjects that interest you beyond the classroom, attend a guest lecture or participate in a research project.”

Ranz-Calhoun said Ohio State’s alumni network is always there to assist new Buckeyes.

“From the moment you stepped onto one of our wonderful campuses, you became a part of that incredible Ohio State family with more than 600,000 alumni around the globe ready to support and celebrate you,” Ranz-Calhoun said. “As you begin this chapter of your Ohio State story, you will quickly discover what it means to be a Buckeye for life.”

Convocation closed with words from Bobby McAlpine, the Undergraduate Student Government — or USG — president. 

McAlpine said his freshman year at Ohio State was full of personal challenges, including the loss of his grandmother and best friend, along with struggles surrounding Type 1 diabetes. Fortunately, McAlpine said, the Ohio State community helped him through that difficult time.

“It was the people at Ohio State, the culture, the family at Ohio State, that kept me afloat,” McAlpine said. “Through the pain, my friends in the Undergraduate Student Government and Morrill Scholars community stepped up and made me meals. They took me out. They gave me a shoulder to cry on.”

McAlpine said Ohio State’s sense of family can help students overcome stressful circumstances.

“It is no secret that we are entering a very volatile time, not only in our nation, but in colleges and universities and higher education across the nation,” McAlpine said. “We are entering an important election year, we’re in the midst of multiple geopolitical conflicts, we are coming off of a pandemic that literally stopped our world. I came here to tell all of you today that right now you have joined a family. We may disagree sometimes, we may not even see eye to eye all the time, but at the end of the day, we know that we’re a family. That’s what’s different. That’s what’s rare about Ohio State.”