As The School Year Kicks-Off, Meet the Class of 2019

Welcome to the start of the fall semester! A special welcome to the seniors—the red class of 2016—and also to the incoming first years, the yellow Class of 2019. The first year students finished orientation activities last week and are waking up this morning for the start of their first semester at Wellesley.

Members of the Class of 2019 hail from 48 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and 41 countries. Their geographical diversity is matched by a wide range of interests, accomplishments and accolades: members of the class include a snowshoe champion, a bagpipes performer, a clown academy student, several writers, environmental activists, and musicians, the creator of a solar-powered charging backpack, and a nanoparticle researcher, just to name a few.

There are also several members of the incoming class who have already made headlines: one student’s journey from Beijing to Wellesley was recounted in a July article published in The Chronicle of Higher Education; the Boston Globe profiled another student who unexpectedly found herself on a nontraditional path; Cleveland.com reported on a student who won the national oration championship; and The Pasadena Citizen shared news of an incoming first year who was one of less than 100 people in the world to earn every possible point on last year’s Spanish Language and Culture AP Exam.

The Class of 2019 will join the sophomore, junior, and senior classes tomorrow, Tuesday, September 1, for Convocation at 3:45 PM in the Diana Chapman Walsh Alumnae Hall Ballroom. Convocation is an important tradition at Wellesley. It provides an opportunity for faculty, staff, and students to gather together and celebrate the start of the academic year. Step Singing will follow immediately after.