Welcome back! I hope that all of you had relaxing and rewarding summers. I know that I got a much-needed break from academia and had a chance to experience life outside of Rensselaer. After being away all summer and coming back this past week, I have been reminded of all the reasons that I love RPI. For example, this past Sunday night at the Freshman Convocation I had an opportunity to meet some of the incoming first-year students and see the variety and diversity of their class.
As this new year starts it gives us a chance to have new beginnings. There are new faces at Rensselaer for us to befriend, we have new classes, new professors, and of course new on-campus activities for us to try out. Here at Rensselaer, the Union sponsors close to 170 clubs and organizations that represent any type of interest. One would be hard-pressed to not find a club that they would be interested in joining. Tomorrow’s Activities Fair is a grand display of this. This annual fair is held in the Houston Field House, and goes from 6–8 pm. Every club that is represented by the Union will be at this fair, showcasing their activities and accomplishments. In addition, myself and the rest of the Executive Board will be at the fair introducing ourselves to the student body. I encourage you all to attend and join a club or two; you have nothing to lose.
Lastly, I have a few final thoughts for my first Derby of the year. I would like to welcome all the first-year students, I hope your experience here at Rensselaer is as rewarding as mine has been. To my fellow seniors: We made it! And, to everyone: make the most out of this year and all your time here; it goes by fast. This is going to be an exciting year for the Union and the Board, along with Rensselaer as a whole.
