Seamus Deely sits on a hill in front of the President’s Residence on Church Street, finishing a picnic dinner on the night before his first day of classes at the University of Iowa.

“I’m a little nervous,” the first-year student from Park Ridge, Illinois, admits. “A little excited, a little nervous, a little bit of everything.”

Deely and several thousand of his fellow incoming classmates fill the lawns along Church Street for the annual President’s Block Party. The Sunday afternoon event wraps three days of On Iowa! activities that welcomed the newest class of Hawkeyes to the UI.

Before the block party began, the last class of students to be born exclusively in the 20th century officially became the UI’s Class of 2021 during convocation exercises on the Pentacrest.

“During the next four years, you will learn the power of us, the power of teamwork, a team that’s not just students but faculty, staff, and alumni,” UI President J. Bruce Harreld tells students gathered in front of Old Capitol. “You’re part of a community, a very large family, and not just a lone person who is pursuing a course of study.”

“Whether you are from Brooklyn, Iowa, or Brooklyn, New York, you are a Hawkeye,” says Lon Moeller, associate provost for undergraduate education and dean of University College. “Whether you are from Madrid, Iowa, or Madrid, Spain, you are a Hawkeye.”

Students are encouraged to indulge in all that the university has to offer, to make friends, and if they need help, to ask for it because all members of the Hawkeye family stand ready to help.

“This is our chance to write our story, to hit the reset button and come together as the Class of 2021,” says Alexa Wunderlick of Naperville, Illinois, who spoke as the class representative. She encourages the students to get involved, to join a club, to apply for a job, to take risks.

“What have you got to lose?” she asks. “You can’t go back and rewrite your story. For all you know, the person sitting across the lawn from you might be your best friend in two years, but you won’t know if you don’t put yourself out there.”

For Moeller, this year’s event is more personal than most. His niece, Maggie, from Clarendon Hills, Illinois, is a member of the incoming class.

“This is truly a special place, so take advantage of every moment,” he tells her and her classmates.

Sue Curry, interim executive vice president and provost, wraps up the formalities by presenting the students with a gold tassel similar to the one they will receive when they march at commencement.

“This is your pledge to the faculty that you will strive to reach your academic goals, and our pledge to you that we will provide an environment of academic challenge and academic support so that you will succeed,” Curry says. “Four years from now, we will be basking in pride in the Class of 2021.”

After the convocation, the new class members head a few blocks north for the Block Party, with music and entertainment provided by UI Dance Marathon and Herky. Deely and his new Mayflower Hall roommate, Matt Conway, sit on the hill together getting to know each other while the crowd gathers behind them at the food tent.

“This has been great,” Conway, a biomedical engineering major from Fox River Grove, Illinois, says of the On Iowa! events. Both students say they fell in love with the campus and everyone they met from the very first time they visited, and they like the energy and vitality of the campus and downtown Iowa City.

“It’s a great atmosphere and everyone here is super friendly,” Deely says.