AC welcomes Class of 2027
Posted Tuesday, August 15, 2023
Author: Mickey Alvarado
Students from around the globe have recently moved to Adrian, Mich. and will make Adrian College their new home away from home.
Thirty-two states, 12 countries and 3 Canadian Provinces are represented in Adrian College’s incoming freshmen Class of 2027. Six hundred and two new students were welcomed by Adrian College President Jeffrey Docking and his staff during this year’s matriculation ceremony in Dawson Auditorium on Sunday, August 13.
The matriculation ceremony officially marks the entrance of the class of 2027 into Adrian College.
“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,” said Adrian College President Jeffrey Docking. “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.”
Adrian College has had an incoming class of 600 or more new students each year for the past seven years, and 500 or more freshmen for the past 15 years. The College’s overall enrollment is over 1,800 students going into the 2023-2024 academic school year.
A majority of this year’s class hail from Michigan with 386 students remaining in the mitten. Forty of the freshmen students are from Lenawee County with students from Addison (1), Adrian (8), Blissfield (2), Britton Deerfield (1), Clinton (3), Hudson (3), home-schooled (Manitou Beach, 1), Lenawee Christian (3), Madison (5), Morenci (3), Onsted (4), and Tecumseh (6).
Fifteen of the new Bulldogs are Legacy students with family members who are Adrian College alumni.
Ohio has 48 Buckeyes coming to Adrian while the sunshine state of Florida has 22 students heading north. Illinois has 17, Indiana, 14, California, eight, Wisconsin, six, Minnesota, five, New York and Texas, four each, Arizona, Nebraska and Tennessee, three each, Colorado, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, North Carolina, Utah and Virginia, two each, and Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Vermont, one each.
There are also 38 international students from 10 countries, including Australia (Queensland-1), Canada (Alberta-3, Nova Scotia-1, Ontario-20), Fiji (Suva-2), Georgia (Chokhatauri-1), Ghana (Ashanti Region-1), Jamaica (St. Catherine-1), Japan (Tokyo-1), Netherlands (Amsterdam-1), New Zealand (1), Northern Mariana Islands (1), South Africa (2), Spain (Barcelona-1) and Sweden (1).
Docking gave the new students two suggestions to make their college experience a great success. He told them not to leave college without getting to know personally as many of the faculty as they can.
“They are Adrian College’s most valuable assets, and the opportunity to develop relationships with them may be the single greatest advantage of coming to a school like Adrian,” Docking said.
His second suggestion was, “Give yourself time students to figure it all out, to figure out what you want to do with your life… The beauty of a small college is that it gives you a chance to discover your passion. If you start in one place and end up in something totally different, that is okay as long as you love what you are doing professionally, you’re good at it, and you can make a lasting and positive contribution to whatever field you choose.”
During Welcome Week (Aug. 13-18), 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 Adrian. 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.
Adrian College Student Government Association President Taylor Yount welcomed the Class of 2027 and said there is a community full of students, faculty, and staff that can provide them opportunities they need to succeed.
“The connections that you make here will last a lifetime and help develop you into the professional you want to become before leaving Adrian College,” Yount said. “I hope you remember to cherish every moment you have created, or will create, at this institution. Adrian College is more than just a private college; it is a home away from home.”
To view the matriculation ceremony, go online to youtube.com/@AdrianCollegeTV.
