Convocation—the annual celebration of incoming students at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga—was held on Friday, Aug. 16, at McKenzie Arena for the class of 2028.
With the help of the Marching Mocs, Ladies of Gold and Spirit Squad, UTC welcomed its new students in style as music and dancing filled the arena throughout the program.
For one junior band member, Evan Wilcox, it was his third Convocation since joining the band in his first year at UTC.
“It’s a good chance for us to show the new people how the school operates and how we do things,” Wilcox said. “It’s a big event for us to prove ourselves and to show off the band.”
After the band serenaded the incoming students with various fight songs and chants, the audience was introduced to key staff and faculty including Chancellor Steve Angle.
Coach Deandra Schirmer
Students were also introduced to new UTC Women’s Basketball Coach Deandra Schirmer.
Schirmer is looking to continue the success of the back-to-back Women’s Southern Conference Champions, but in the meantime, helped lead students in a dance to the classic Soulja Boy tune, “Turn My Swag On.”
The highlight of the morning for many students was the light show, which was put on by participating students using their flashlights on their phones.
After introducing the many faculty members and all the songs were sung and danced to, the students took the annual picture in the shape of their graduating year on the arena floor.
As the thousands of first-year students poured out of the arena to enjoy the rest of their day on campus, one incoming nursing student—Natasha Makuta—talked about the importance of events like this for the incoming first-year students as they begin their academic careers.
“I loved it,” Makuta said. “I think it’s a good way to introduce us to UTC. They gave us important details. It was just freshmen, so it was a way to kind of feel tapped into the freshman community.”
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Photo gallery by Angela Foster
