New Ole Miss Students Begin Their Journey

The celebration marked the 178th time the university welcomed new students and served as the kickoff of their journey, encouraging them to create community and seize all the moments.

Chancellor Glenn Boyce challenged students to embrace the moments and translate the university's Creed into action.

"The coming years will bring you extraordinary opportunities," Boyce said. "You have boundless potential, and our university is the perfect place to begin your legacy. Here, you'll discover what inspires you in the classroom, learn how to engage with your community, and meet lifelong friends and mentors."

The Creed's values of respect, fairness and civility, integrity, academic honesty, academic freedom and good stewardship unite current and former students, making it a place they are proud to call their alma mater, he said.

"I challenge you to translate those words into action," Boyce said. "In doing so, you uphold our standards of excellence and set the bar high for everyone around you."

Thomas Fuller, a New York Times correspondent and author of this year's Common Reading Experience book, "The Boys of Riverside" (Vintage Books, 2024), delivered the keynote address. In the book, Fuller recounts the championship season of a deaf football team from the California School for the Deaf.

All entering freshmen and transfer students received a copy of the book.

Honored to speak at a "such a legendary football school, not to mention the land of Faulkner and Grisham," Fuller admitted he was not sure if he was the right person to provide wisdom as he was not a great student or achievement test-taker.

"I'm sure I had teachers who wrote me off in high school," he said. "Even in college, I'm sure I had some teachers who wrote me off. But I'm here to tell you that who you are at 18 or 19 is not who you will be at 30, let alone 50."

He shared that he evolved and learned from his world travels as a writer.

"I can comparably say that America is the most patient places of all of those countries," Fuller said. "We don't have a national test that you take once, and that decides the path of your future education and career.

"We are encouraged to fail, to get up and try again. We can be slow at the gate just as long as we know how to sprint. I was allowed to get 430 out of 800 on an assessment test and then go on to work for The New York Times for three decades and counting."

He reminded students that just as trees grow at different rates, so do people.

"This morning, I walked through the Grove and spoke to someone doing some tree maintenance there who told me some of the trees grow faster than others," Fuller said. "But at the end of the day, though, they all provide magnificent shade that all of you enjoy."

He reflected on some of the lessons imparted by "The Boys of Riverside."

"They became champions by turning their so-called disability into a superpower," Fuller said. "We should all use the skills available to us and max them out."

For the players in Riverside, this meant using American Sign Language and forging a bond around deafness, a community, he said.

"And I can assure you that during your years here, you will forge bonds with your classmates," he said.

Provost Noel Wilkin further spurred students to create bonds and fully engage in their college experience.

"Join a student organization, get to know your professors, build new relationships while staying in touch with old friends and explore ways to expand your knowledge outside of the classroom," he said.

Shawnboda Mead, vice chancellor for student affairs, challenged students to make their Ole Miss experience their own.

"Your Ole Miss experience won't simply happen to you; you have to participate in creating it," she said. "So, say yes. Go to the event. Join the organization. Introduce yourself to someone new.

"Ask for help when you need it. Try something you've never done before."

Marielle Jayden, a freshman biology and radiology major from Jackson, is looking forward to challenges.

"I came to Ole Miss because they have the best radiology program in the state and it's really competitive," she said. "I want to be pushed; most people don't say this, but I'm looking forward to the downs because I want to be able to struggle and still be able to get out of the hole.

"I want to be able to make my own path and make my own way."

Freshman finance major Carter Wilson, of Colorado, is also ready for what lies ahead and becoming more independent.

"I'm looking forward to going into this next chapter of my life and stepping into the unknown and having to figure it out," he said.

Such things can be accomplished with the Ole Miss community.

"You belong in this community, and starting tonight, you are helping to shape what this community will become," Mead said.

Top: Thomas Fuller, New York Times correspondent and author of 'The Boys of Riverside,' speaks to Ole Miss freshmen and transfer students during the university's annual Fall Convocation. He encouraged students to forge bonds with classmates just as the football team did at the California School for the Deaf. Photo by Kevin Bain/Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services