Thousands of University of Iowa’s Class of 2023 sat on the lawn of the Pentacrest on Aug. 25 as the OnIowa Convocation marked the beginning of their journeys at the university.

With events such as a Kickoff at Kinnick, tours around campus, and opportunities in different student groups, OnIowa is the weeklong programming introducing incoming students to campus.

“We’re very excited to welcome the new class,” Orientation Services Director Tina Arthur said. “My favorite part of OnIowa is just the energy on campus and in Iowa City as the students come back and the new students get here and start to explore their new home.”

New events for incoming students included a night of the arts at Hancher, the Being Black at Iowa dinner, a magic show at the Graduate Iowa City, and a Kinnick After-Party instead of the traditional Madness on Madison event, she said.

“It’s always been a focus of us in trying to provide different opportunities for students to connect to each other,” Arthur said. “We have our cultural kickback, which is a new twist on an old event. We’re really opening our doors on our cultural houses.”

In addition to similar diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, she said, OnIowa encouraged students to register to vote throughout the week, and a first-generation task force welcomed students whose parents did not graduate from a four-year university.

She’s excited about incoming students seeing and experiencing what the UI has to offer.

“My biggest hope for you all is that you give serious thought to what kind of mark you will leave at Iowa,” UISG President Noel Mills said. “This is not the time to stay in your comfort zone. This is not the time to settle.”

Convocation kicked off with Mills’ speech, and she emphasized the advantageous opportunities that UI students will have throughout their college careers.

“These are your years for big dreams, bold ideas, and brave decisions,” Mills said. “If there is ever a time to do something extraordinary, to be something extraordinary, this is it.”

UI freshman Grace Aldrin, the Class of 2023’s Convocation speaker, is the first in her family to attend the UI, and she said she is excited to begin her first year at the university.

“Fortunately, no one here is alone,” Aldrin said. “Things are starting to feel real and very different. Sometimes a big change like this can feel isolating, but it’s important to remember we are all in the same boat right now.”

Aldrin finished her speech by addressing the importance of being an active citizen of the university.

“If you can put yourself out there, you will find your home here,” she said. “I can’t promise you that this will be easy, but I can tell you that when Hawkeyes put their mind to something, there’s no holding us back, and I have 172 years of history to back me up on that.”

UI President Bruce Harreld brought the week’s events to an end by inviting the freshmen and new transfer students to the annual President’s Block Party at his house, which he referred to as “the pres res.”

“This is a team truly of Hawkeyes. At the University of Iowa, you are not just a lone person pursuing an individual course of study,” Harreld said. “You are joining many other students and scholars — in fact, a broader community here in a collaborative, educational, extracurricular, and community set of activities.”