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Providing a break from a long day of move-ins and orientations, OU officials welcomed the newest class to OU Thursday afternoon at the Lloyd Noble Center for New Sooner Convocation.
With members of the Pride of Oklahoma setting the mood for a Sooners’ welcome, speakers, including UOSA President Franz Zenteno and OU President David Boren, addressed the class of 2014 about becoming a member of the “Sooner family.”
Talking from his experience as a foreign exchange student at OU, Zenteno told the crowd how proud he is to be a part of a diverse community.
“No matter where you come from, what you look like, once you become a Sooner, you will always be a Sooner,” he said. “I would like to welcome each new Sooner to this great Sooner family.”
Coming from all 50 states and from 111 other countries, new freshmen came to OU attracted by academics, the campus and affection for the university.
University College freshman Whitney Parker of Houston, Texas, said the beauty of the campus and OU’s engineering program made her want to come to OU.
“I’m actually the first in my family to go to an out-of-state university,” Parker said. “My family still jokes with me about why I didn’t decide to go to a Texas university when I’m from Texas.”
George Chacko, Edmond resident, father of a University College freshman and former faculty member of OU Health Sciences Center, said his family always had a special spot in their hearts for OU.
“My son has always wanted to come here; even after receiving offers from places like the University of Chicago, he still decided to stay close to home because of our affection for the university,” Chacko said.
While speaking to the crowd about what OU has to offer students, Boren also took time to encourage the class of 2014 to become leaders.
“We are locked in a struggle for the future of this country to maintain greatness of this country,” he said. “There are people who believe that the greatest days of this country are behind us; this is a challenge that is set before all of us, it is a challenge especially set before you.”
Boren said the world is in need of remarkable leadership.
“Whenever I am asked if I am optimistic or pessimistic in this time, I always tell them I am optimistic because I live everyday with the students of the University of Oklahoma,” Boren said. “I see the future leadership of our society.”
With education and opportunities offered at OU, students will be equipped to become the leaders society needs, he said.
“You are entering a special part of your life … you are Sooners now; this university is yours,” Boren said.
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Steven Zoeller 1 year, 9 months ago
I thought Zenteno's speech was poorly written, but I agreed with the core message. Boren had a very nice address... although I would've enjoyed it more had I been sitting down while he was delivering it. I think all speech writers ought to assume their audience will be standing; it would probably do more for conciseness. Oh well.