2025 Convocation Address

President Daniel G. Lugo’s Convocation Address
Trinity College | August 28, 2025

Class of 2029, it is an honor to welcome you to Convocation—the time-honored tradition that opens your academic journey here at Trinity. You are now part of a tradition that is over two centuries old, and that marks the start of something extraordinary.

Today is particularly special for me because this is my first year as president and you are my first class to welcome. Like you, I am learning about what makes this campus and our people so special—what it means to be a community of Bantams. Like you, I am getting to know faculty who are both unbelievable experts in their fields and fervent champions of your growth. I am meeting great staff members who are eager to root you on.

Together, we’ll find our favorite spots on campus. We’ll learn how not to get lost in the library. And yes, I’ve been warned as you have too, together we’ll not step on that stone on the Long Walk in front of Northam Towers.

More on that in a moment.

You have made a great decision to live and to learn at a small liberal arts college. I was a first-gen student myself and know firsthand what it feels like to be new to a community and to have a fresh start—to figure things out, to learn what I was passionate about. Moving from New York to Minnesota, I attended another small liberal arts college, Carleton, where everything was new to me. I eventually found my place; I eventually found my people. And to this day, I remain a strong advocate for the power of a liberal arts experience.

I hope you know that you are not and will not be alone. You belong to a community where you can find classmates who will challenge you and become true friends. You can find others to guide you if you need help. You can find a club or team that excites you. You can be entrepreneurial in all that you study and inquisitive about all that you learn.

This is the beginning of a lifelong relationship with Trinity—and, if we do this right, it will lead to many lifelong relationships with others. Trinity is not just a four-year proposition, it is an experience — the sum of all the learning and growth you’ll experience, all the people who will support you now and in the future, and all the great things you’ll do.

If we do this right, you will be a new person in four years—you will grow socially, intellectually, and personally. You will see things differently and, when you leave, you will take with you the power of seeing of possibility into the world.

In case you missed it, there is a tradition here involving a lemon squeezer. Yes, you heard that correctly.

In 1857, a senior presented a wooden lemon squeezer to the rising class in recognition of their scholarship and moral character. Since then, it has become a wildly contested, often stolen, always beloved artifact. And every year, it makes one brief appearance—at Convocation—so we can squeeze fresh lemon into a bowl and raise a toast to the incoming class.

It’s a little quirky. It’s a little playful. But it’s very Trinity.

Just like another tradition at Fuller Arch—named for Henry Fuller, Class of 1938 —and the superstition surrounding the Luther-Roosevelt stone (hopefully you didn’t step on it today as you walked in!). U.S. President Teddy Roosevelt spoke to a crowd of 5,000 on the day before he received his honorary degree in 1918. The legend says: if you step on that stone before graduation…you might not graduate. So, my advice to you, new Bantams? Watch your step. Literally.

These traditions may feel silly, but they are our traditions. They do something important: they connect you to generations of alumni who sat right where you are now. They remind us that college is not only about knowledge, but also about a transformative experience and your place in our collective history.

While, yes, Convocation is about welcoming you, it is also about giving you a charge as the newest members of our Bantam community.

My charge to you is this: open your eyes. See possibility where others don’t. Seek the opportunities that Trinity, Hartford, the region around us, our alumni, our faculty and staff present—both directly and indirectly.

There will be many.

And most importantly: show up. Fully. You are joining a community that holds itself—and each other—to high standards. That’s not pressure. That’s a privilege.

You will be surrounded by faculty who are not just teachers, but mentors—who will know your name, challenge your assumptions, and invite you into thoughtful debates. Take them up on it. Visit their offices. Ask big questions.

You’ll sit in small classes, where engagement is expected. Speak up, not because you have the answer, but because you’re willing to think out loud. That is the heart of a liberal arts education.

And don’t stop at the gates.

Hartford is not just where we are. It’s part of who we are. It’s a vibrant, complex capital city—rich with happenings, cultural offerings, and some truly excellent food. Go beyond campus. Volunteer. Intern. Explore. Let Hartford shape you as much as Trinity will.

And when you’re feeling unsure? That’s the point. Get comfortable with discomfort. Take a course that scares you. Attend a lecture that sounds confusing. Say yes when every part of you wants to play it safe.

Because here’s the truth: growth only happens beyond the edges of what you already know.

We don’t just educate you to earn a degree. We educate you to lead—in your communities, in your industries, and in our world. Leadership isn’t a title, it’s a practice. Listen well. Speak thoughtfully. Learn humbly. Seek guidance often.

And so, as you walk the Long Walk today, perhaps for the first time—walk it with intention. Know that one day, you’ll walk it again, in the other direction, in cap and gown.

What happens between now and then is up to you.

And if you forget everything I’ve said except one thing, let the one thing be this:

You belong here.
You matter here.
We are so glad you’re here.
Welcome to Trinity.