Year four for On Iowa! just might have been the biggest and best yet.
Welcoming one of the largest first-year classes in University of Iowa history, the pre-semester program featured an all-star Kickoff at Kinnick, a tradition-charged Convocation, and a one-time-only finish for the President’s Block Party.
To see a related story and photos, visit #OnIowa14.
On Iowa! has become a centerpiece of the university’s student success initiatives. Since the program’s inception, the UI has charted higher first-to-second-year retention rates and a four-year graduation rate that’s well above the national average. Over five days, new first-year and transfer students settled into new digs, checked out campus facilities and resources, and received a crash course in what it means to be a UI student. As always, hundreds of campus and community volunteers made everything possible.
The program has earned its place among campus traditions, but each new class of students manage to make On Iowa! its own.
“Today we have an opportunity to start a new chapter of our lives, an opportunity to redefine who we are and show what we stand for,” said Omar Shaban, an Iowa City native selected to represent the Class of 2018 at Convocation. “Today let’s close the door to our past and open the door to our future.”
