From the Frederick News-Post.
A new set of freshmen filed into Hood College’s Hodson Outdoor Theater donning their red beanies and ready to start their college journey.
Hood held its convocation ceremony to kick off its 125th year as classes began Monday. The college welcomed 258 first-year students and 85 new transfer students in its opening ceremony with remarks from several Hood faculty and students.
“Convocation is the time for us to affirm our commitment to a vibrant and rich intellectual life,” Hood President Andrea Chapdelaine told the students. “To aspire to learn more and learn more deeply.”
Incoming students earned more than $2.6 million in Hood College merit scholarships, said William Brown, the school’s vice president for enrollment management.
Chapdelaine expressed her excitement for the upcoming school year, and offered advice to help freshmen acclimate to college life.
To celebrate the 125th year, Chapdelaine implored students to be sure to devote 125 minutes a day to studying, 125 minutes a week to exercise and 125 hours throughout the year to community service. The community service part kicked off this past weekend with freshman orientation, which included service projects in downtown Frederick.
Convocation also recognized 78 seniors, 43 juniors and 31 sophomores with convocation honors, which are for students who earned a 3.6 GPA for the prior year.
Freshmen in the Class of 2021 come from 19 states, the District of Columbia and five foreign countries.
There are 190 new graduate students for this school year, including 33 international students from 11 different countries. Twenty-seven of the new graduate students are Hood College alumni — either with a Hood bachelor’s degree or a previous Hood master’s degree. Hood’s total student population is 2,076.
Hood will unveil its recently approved cybersecurity graduate program this semester. The program is a sub-discipline of computer science and information technology.
