The newest members of the Johns Hopkins student body gathered with faculty and university administrators Tuesday night at the First-Year Banquet, an annual event inspired by the centuries-old dining styles of Oxford and Cambridge.
The event began in 2010 as High Table, with students, faculty, and administrators seated at long, banquet-style tables. Last year, the event was reimagined as the First-Year Banquet, with an added emphasis on Hopkins history and a more casual dining style to encourage mingling.
Eunice Namkoong, president of the Class of 2022, welcomed the attendees with a call for those present to accept the help and advantages available to them at Hopkins, but also to put their energy and passion back into the world.
"While you're navigating through your own season of growth, keep in mind that we can use our platforms, no matter how small or big right now, to be a catalyst in our community," Namkoong said. "Just envision and imagine how amazing it will be, several years from now, knowing you are part of an immensely accomplished class creating change in this world."
Provost Sunil Kumar, Krieger School of Arts and Sciences Dean Beverly Wendland, Whiting School of Engineering Dean Ed Schlesinger, and Class of 2022 senator Nathan Mudrak also delivered remarks during the event. The evening featured readings from Daniel Coit Gilman's 1876 inaugural address and the 1974 commencement address delivered by Cynthia Young, who was among the first female undergraduate students to attend Hopkins.
The event is made possible by the support of the Hopkins Parents Fund.
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