Class of 2029 Arrives, Moves In, and Heads Off for Adventures
By Rebecca Goldfine
Arrival Day
Cars started rolling in at 8:30 a.m., Monday, a few of them stuffed to the ceiling with luggage, their passengers squeezed into the few spaces remaining.
Upperclass students and staff in light-blue “Welcome home, Polar Bears” T-shirts hurried to greet each arrival, hauling box after box and armloads of bags up flights of stairs.
Providing background music on Coe Quad, the Maine Marimba Ensemble played traditional Shona songs from Zimbabwe—the ringing notes sailing across campus. When Mukudzei Seremani ’28, who is from Zimbabwe, came by to listen, she was invited to join in and play.
In the afternoon, approaching the time for families to say goodbye, three College leaders—President Safa Zaki, Senior Vice President and Dean for Academic Affairs Jen Scanlon, and Senior Vice President and Dean for Student Affairs Jim Hoppe—spoke to a gathered audience of family members and guests.
“You Belong at Bowdoin”
On Tuesday afternoon, again on the Quad, Zaki addressed the students for the official President's Welcome, along with Associate Dean of Students Khoa Khuong ’04.
View this post on Instagram
Khuong told the students to take a few breaths and to remember—“like a catchy pop song”—the phrase, “I belong at Bowdoin.” He asked them to repeat this aloud twice and then to turn to the person sitting next to them and say, “You belong at Bowdoin.” The students did so, with light laughter rippling through the group.
He added, “This is a place where we care, we assume positive intent, and where we engage with each other.”
Zaki said she hopes the students could already sense Bowdoin's open-hearted and vibrant culture. The differences among its community members, she added, is one of the College's biggest strengths—and contributes to deep, effective learning.
In the next four years, she continued, as the students sharpen their skills of analysis, debate, and communication, they will do so in a collaborative community. She urged them to take joy in their education and their place at Bowdoin and in Maine, to take advantage of all the opportunities coming their way, to always ask for help when they need it, and when they can, to also offer help.
Following these remarks, the students posed for a class photo. They will gather once again for a photo on the Bowdoin College Museum of Art steps a few days before their graduation in 2029.
On Wednesday morning, the students departed on orientation trips, heading out for three days of hiking, canoeing, kayaking, surfing, camping, mountain biking, community service, and getting to know one another in small groups. They return Saturday for the Welcome Back Cookout.