New students can often feel overwhelmed by their surroundings on the first day, week, month, or year of school. Luckily, those students got to attend the New Student Convocation.
Each year at the convocation, a guest speaker comes to encourage future graduates. This year, Republican Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee came to urge new Tigers to make themselves as independent as possible.
"Number one is to throw 100 percent of yourself into mastering something," Corker said.
He also said it is important to create a bold vision for life.
"It may seem out of reach, but you have to keep going, because one day you'll look back and see how many steps you've taken," Corker said.
Before leaving, Corker said people who master something must give back to their community.
After students watched a video about the history of the University of Memphis since its birth, Brad Martin, interim president of the U of M, made his debut.
Martin was a Tiger when the U of M was still Memphis State University. From there, he became a Tennessee state representative through opportunities he encountered in his college career.
Forty years later, Martin has followed Corker's advice and has returned to the U of M to "give back."
"There will be difficult times, but there are people here who are committed to your success," Martin said.
Martin created an acronym for Memphis to illustrate to the class of 2017 what U of M is all about.
According to Martin, "MEMPHIS" stands for Mission, Excellence, Memphis, Physical, Home, Integrity and Speed.
Upon entering the Rose Theatre, students were given a packet they were told not to open until the appropriate time. When this time came, the contents were revealed to be a tassel, a U of M pin, a mock passport and a booklet of U of M traditions.
The tassel is supposed to represent the long-term goal of graduation, according to the provost David Rudd, who was dressed in his academic regalia.
"We are here to ensure your success," Rudd said.
The pin is intended to remind students of the pledge they took as a group during the convocation to be "dreamers, thinkers and doers."
The traditions book is included to give them a history of the U of M and a passport card to encourage students to study abroad or participate in internships.
After explaining the contents of the packet, Rudd introduced the faculty leadership who were also wearing their robes. These included the deans of each school on campus.
Some of those traditions include dress code for sports competitions (always wear Tiger Blue), as well as lyrics for the Tiger Fight song and the U of M alma mater.
"I feel a lot more comfortable now after this presentation," freshman nursing major Sara Kennon said.
"There is nothing like being a Tiger," Martin said.
