As a new Bobcat, I feel very strange welcoming many of you back to OHIO. My family and I just recently moved to Athens from New England and could not be happier to be a citizen of Southeastern Ohio.
If you have only been a Bobcat for a few hours or days, welcome to your new home. It may feel strange to read those words but it’s true. For the next four years, you will spend most of your life in Athens. Please do yourself a favor and use your time wisely. Four years will fly by and you cannot possibly do everything our community has to offer.
A few months ago my wife and I visited Athens for the first time together. We went to dinner and had a OHIO student as a waitress. She told us she transferred here to study special education. I asked her how she was doing and her face glowed with pride. She earned straight A’s and loved being a Bobcat.
The reason I share this interaction with you is because of what she said next. Because of the investment professors made in her, last semester was the first time in her life that she felt smart. Do yourself another favor and read that last sentence out loud.
Every day, faculty, staff and your classmates are here to support you and want you to succeed. Ask for help when you need it; reach out to those that need it and be your ideal Bobcat for the rest of your life!
While Ohio University is known for its outstanding academic programs, beautiful campus and welcoming spirit, our community thrives for one reason — people. We have a responsibility to bring our whole selves to campus and respect each other. In a time when we see incivility and violence around the world, it is easy to disinvest in the world around us. Ohio University needs all of us to invest in the development of the “Bobcat Family.”
Equally important are the smaller moments: the class that opens your eyes to a new career possibility, the friendships that take root over OHIO Late Nights, profound campus conversations or community connections forged through service. All too often, these are the truly transformational moments in a college career. Be sure to look up from your Pokémon Go (at least every now and then) and engage in all that Ohio University has to offer as the year gets underway.
While I too have a lot to learn about Ohio University, I have made some general observations during the course of my 20-year career in higher ed. The students who thrive are those who get out of their comfort zones, who seek out mentorships, who engage with faculty inside and outside of the classroom, and who seek to connect with their University community on all levels. This is the University family I was told I would find at OHIO and one that I am so proud to call my own.
Thanks for welcoming me to the Bobcat Family. I couldn’t be more excited to embark on this fresh start with you.
Jason B. Pina is the new vice president of student affairs.
