High spirits, community kick-off 2025 Utica University Convocation
“Along our journeys, we have our ups and downs, our triumphs and challenges. But what defines our journey, and our very essence as a person, is not the challenges we face but how we deal with them.”
“I declare the 2025-2026 academic year of Utica University to be in session.”
With those words, Mace Bearer Dr. Thomas Rossi opened up the Convocation Ceremony, officially marking the start for a new year of academic and campus life at Utica University.
A time-honored tradition, Convocation is the formal gathering at the beginning of the academic year to welcome and celebrate students to the next chapter in their journey through higher education.
The back of Strebel Student Center where a sea of energy, as students, many in orange Utica t-shirts and sunglasses, lined the sidewalks to cheer on their professors, mentors, and fellow Pioneers as they processed to Clark Athletic Center. That spirit of community was the central theme driven home by Convocation speakers throughout the morning – stressing the importance of support for one another in the days ahead.
“Some days, everything will go your way,” Provost Stephanie Nesbitt told students. “On other days, you will question why you ever thought college was a good idea. You will look around and think everyone else gets this, is doing a better job, isn’t experiencing struggles or doubts, or is having an easier time. Do not buy into this false narrative. Everyone has moments of darkness and doubt. We act like we don’t, but we do.”
Provost Nesbitt relayed her own experiences growing up on an Upstate New York farm, struggling to make ends meet and becoming a first-generation college graduate.
“I paid for my education without assistance from my parents, not because they didn’t want to help, but because they couldn’t.”
Discussing her own feelings as an outsider in college, she says she often felt like she was the only one who “didn’t get it.”
“If you think you don’t belong, think again,” she said. “Our campus community has people from a wide variety of backgrounds, cultures, beliefs, and perspectives. While no one knows exactly what it is like to be you, there is someone here who has experienced similar to you.”
The 2025 keynote address was delivered by Dr. Michael McCarthy, Associate Professor of Data Science and 2025 recipient of the Dr. Virgil Crisafulli Award for Distinguished Teaching.
Dr. McCarthy, whose career has not only been that of a Data Science Professor, but also a pilot in the U.S. Army, an Amazon researcher, and a stay-at-home father of three, talked about his own feelings of failure in college after a stellar performance throughout high school.
“I quickly found college-level academics were a much different speed. They were quick-paced and challenging. I struggled…in every class.”
He says that he began to question if he would make it through his first-year of college, let alone get into the Engineering program that he had his sights set on.
“I felt I worked hard, but in four short months of my first term, I went from the very top of my high school class to the very bottom of my college class. It was the worst experience I’ve had in my life…up until that point. I felt like a failure.”
He was left in shock when his English grade was posted and he learned he had failed. He called his parents from a payphone, telling them he wanted to quit. He says his mother listened to him and helped him outline his possible options, including what to do had he chose to quit, or if he chose to stick it out. He decided to stick with it.
“Ultimately, what I remember most was that she supported me regardless of the path I chose.”
Knowing he had support changed his mindset. And when he returned to his room, he felt he had the beginnings of a plan to keep fighting.
“Along our journeys, we have our ups and downs, our triumphs and challenges. But what defines our journey, and our very essence as a person, is not the challenges we face but how we deal with them.”
Dr. McCarthy says that in that moment, as a young 18-year-old, he lacked the perspective to see the larger arch of his life and how that one semester did not define him. He could have made an impulsive choice, but instead, he reached out for help.
“No one journeys alone and, what no one tells you, is that no one expects you to go it alone. Along your life’s journey and specifically while here at Utica University, you’ll expand your community with new friends, faculty mentors, and supportive staff who are here for you along your journey – during your triumphs and your challenges, they are here for you.”
President Todd Pfannestiel took to the podium to provide students with some final pieces of advice before departing for the start of a new semester and a new academic year.
“Whether your college experience is extraordinary will not be determine by what our university hands you, but rather what you make of it,” he told the crowd. “Work hard for what you believe in and aspire to, even if they seem impossible at times. Take risks. Trust in your professors and your classmates; and anything can happen.”
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