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St. Olaf College welcomed the Class of 2030, transfer students, and returning Oles to their first day of classes with an Opening Convocation centered on the power of questions, connection, and community. 

Faculty processed into Boe Memorial Chapel in their academic regalia as the St. Olaf Band, conducted by Assistant Professor of Music Henry L. Dorn, played Fanfare and Grand March — composed by St. Olaf’s own Professor Emeritus of Music Timothy Mahr ’78. Associate College Chaplain Sarah Semmler Smith ’04 opened the ceremony with an invocation, followed by the singing of the hymn For the Splendor of Creation.

President Susan Rundell Singer welcomed new students to the Hill, describing Opening Convocation as a meeting point between the college’s history and what lies ahead. 

“Opening Convocation is a beautiful mix of tradition — the pageantry of the past and the promise of the future,” she said. 

Rundell Singer encouraged students to embrace St. Olaf’s mission of caring for their neighbors and living life on purpose for the common good, pointing to the college’s Strengthening Community and Engaging Across Difference initiative and its Core Four values of curiosity, inclusion, courage, and grace.  

“The through thread across our first 150 years as St. Olaf is that we are solution seekers, committed to moving forward, finding joy, and making a difference in the world,” Rundell Singer said. “May you find the courage and grant each other the grace to truly seek to understand. Together, we will find the solutions we seek.”

Student Government Association President Lily Spoerke ’27 then welcomed the Class of 2030 to their first day of college classes and encouraged them to make the most of an education that extends well beyond the classroom. 

“Not only will you receive a phenomenal, well-rounded education, but you will also get to meet some of the most incredible people, engage with inspiring professors, make best friends, participate in a wide range of extracurriculars, and grow as a human being,” Spoerke said. “You learn not only in the classroom, but you get to learn about yourself as a student, a friend, a classmate, a teammate, and — most importantly — a person.” 

Spoerke, a political science major with a concentration in international relations who is also a goalkeeper on the St. Olaf women’s soccer team, shared a lesson she has heard from coaches, advisors, mentors, and friends throughout her own time on the Hill: You are first, a person, second, a student, and third, everything else. 

She encouraged the 844 first years and 29 transfer students to discover what taking care of themselves looks like — whether that means reading a book, walking through the Natural Lands, or finding a community where they feel at home. 

“For me, filling my cup means being a part of a community,” Spoerke said. “I engage with several different smaller communities on campus, like athletics, student government, peers in my political science classes, but every person in each of the communities I engage with has something in common — we are all Oles. […] What kind of community do you want to be a part of? What kinds of people do you want to surround yourself with? How do you contribute to this community? I encourage you to keep this picture in your mind throughout your time at St. Olaf and allow it to guide you.”

Professor of Psychology Dana Gross carried that theme of community into the morning’s keynote address, approaching the beginning of the academic year through a series of “good questions.”

Gross pointed to the four questions that guide the St. Olaf Four-Year Plan: Where am I? Who am I? Where am I going? How do I get there?

“As a developmental psychologist who studies the ways in which people change and remain the same, these good questions seem like the right ones to frame your time here,” Gross said. 

She began with the first: Where am I?

For new students just learning their way around campus, Gross noted that the question can be quite literal. She recalled arriving as a new faculty member and unloading several heavy boxes of books before realizing she had parked outside the wrong limestone building. Instead of Holland Hall, where the Psychology Department was located at the time, she had arrived at the library. 

Gross told students that developing their understanding of St. Olaf requires more than memorizing a map.

“If you just memorized building directories and floor plans, or studied Google maps and photos of St. Olaf, not only would you be a little bored, but your cognitive representation would not be as rich, three-dimensional, and flexible,” she shared. “Taking the time to personally navigate St. Olaf’s 11 miles of sidewalks and 400-plus acres of Natural Lands is time well spent. Another essential part of filling in your mental map and answering the question ‘Where Am I?’ is to engage and take those steps with others.”

Drawing on research by social psychologist and St. Olaf alum Nicholas Epley ’96, Gross highlighted the ways even small interactions can strengthen well-being and connection. Epley’s research has found that people often underestimate how much they will enjoy talking with strangers or how willing others will be to help when asked. Other research has similarly demonstrated the positive impact that expressions of gratitude, encouragement, and support can have on both the recipient and the person offering them. 

“We should not hesitate to ask others for assistance, and we should have more positive expectations about choosing to connect with those around us,” Gross said. 

Gross offered students three questions to carry with them as they left the chapel: What was good about today? What can I do? Where am I? The first can encourage a practice of gratitude, while the second can lead students toward involvement and service. The third can serve as a reminder to slow down and pay attention to the place and people around them. Gross invited those gathered in Boe to put aside their phones, feel the wooden pews beneath them, and look at the chapel’s ceiling, stained-glass windows, and international flags. 

“Even if you didn’t know that this space was redesigned and renovated after a lightning strike in September of 2005, you can probably sense that everything here belongs, has meaning, and makes this a better place — this is also true of every person in this community,” Gross said. “Your words and attention are valuable, and you should feel confident using them often and generously, even with people you don’t know. You have opportunities every day to connect with peers, advisors, professors, and others in this community. Doing this will not only help you figure out where you are but also answer those very good questions about who you are, where you’re going, and how to get there.”