Senior to address first-year students

For the first time, a fellow student has been selected to deliver the keynote speech of the Chancellor’s Convocation for New Students at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Holly Bertera, a senior from Cottage Grove, Wis., majoring in legal studies, was selected from a group of applicants who wrote essays answering the question, “What did you learn about yourself or others during your freshman year?”

The event is scheduled for noon on Friday, Sept. 1, at the Kohl Center. As a bookend to commencement, the convocation inaugurates students into the campus community as they begin their studies. Traditionally, several thousand new students attend the event.

Bertera’s sister is entering UW-Eau Claire this fall, and Bertera modeled her speech around the advice she has given her sister about her own college experience: The secret of being a first-year student is knowing that your entire life has changed and you have the freedom to redefine yourself.

“The beauty of your first year at college is that it is your chance to reinvent yourself, throw off the chains of your high school reputation and become the person you want to be,” says Bertera ,who hopes to attend law school in Boston, Philadelphia or Chicago.

“Holly’s speech stood out because it’s a reflection of how she changed as a person as a freshman,” says Wren Singer, director of the Office of Orientation and New Student Programs. “It gives power to how important the first year is. It’s a pivot point in your life.”

Other speakers will include Chancellor John D. Wiley, interim Dean of Students Lori Berquam and Mayor Dave Cieslewicz.

“The convocation is the one time all first-year students come together in the same place,” Wiley says. “Coming to UW–Madison is an accomplishment. This is our chance to congratulate students on joining our community and mark the start of their college experience.”

As part of his remarks, Wiley plans to give new students their first “homework” assignment of their college careers.

“UW-Madison is made up of students, faculty and staff from hundreds of different cultures, backgrounds and ethnicities,” he says. “I plan to ask students to take 10 minutes to get to know someone from a different background and e-mail me about their experience.”

As part of the event, the Office of Orientation and New Student Programs is launching a new Web site that will include the text of Bertera’s speech, other speech contest finalists and the best advice of faculty and staff about making the most out of the first year at UW–Madison.