All the time.

Rhythm, wagon man, working all the time.

We are always running for look.

Three little bit, three little bit.

Always pushing up the hill.

Searching for the three little bit. All on.

We are calling out now again, never looking down, I'm just

what's in front of me

To

to

don't stop.

Just

So come mom, deliver from inside.

All we got is till tonight. That is right to first life.

Hey, where did we go days when the rains came

down in the hollow playing a new game,

laughing at running, taping, skipping

and jumping in the misty morning fall with

ah, a hot sit film.

Ben and you a brown eye girl.

Are you my I go

and whatever happened the Tuesday

and so slow going down the old man with a

transit radio standing in

the sunlight laughing.

Hadn't had a rainbow's wall slipping out.

SLA all along the water fall with you.

A brown girl

And You mad Brad girl,

Do You remember when are we used to sing

just like us

so hot.

Find my way

Now That I'm all on my own.

I saw you just the other day.

Math. You have grown, grown cast from memory back

for a lot sometime

before comes thinking about making love in the green grass,

A behind stadium with you,

My Brand and girl

As You mad, right girl,

Do You remember?

When are we used to? Same?

I was so high after you. Not cognize.

Fire burning control. My mind

Whisper Goodbye.

She got on a plane, never return again.

Always in my heart.

This has taken, let's go.

She said goodbye many time

before is breaking.

I I have no choice. Come say goodbye more.

Whoa,

whoa, whoa.

I try my best to feed her appetite,

keep it coming every night to hard keeper.

Satisfying. Oh, ki playing

like it is just a game.

Pretend you feel the same. Turn around.

And again, this

has taken on me.

She said goodbye. Too many before

and I have no choice.

Car will say goodbye.

Whoa, whoa.

Broken things.

Prepare your broken weight

and make sure everything

my pressure on your hip stick in my fingertips

every inch of you

because I know that's what you want me to do.

This love has taken, let go.

All she said goodbye.

Too many.

Morning, Buckeyes.

How's everybody feeling this morning? So far so good.

Oh, no, no, no, no, no. We, we, we must do better than this.

Buckeyes, how are you feeling this morning? Good.

Oh, thank you so much.

Well, we are so excited

to have you here at the 2025 convocation.

Our program will start in a few minutes, but

before we get things really going, just wanted

to do a little bit of a roll call, see who's in the room.

Always like to know what communities people are coming from.

So where are the people who come from say the Cleveland area

are Clevelanders here?

Okay, got a few. How about the Cincinnati folks?

Uh, okay. All right.

What about the folks who are from the Columbus area

and okay, let me hear from folks

who are international students.

All right, loud and proud.

And finally, how about our out-of-state students?

Okay, you're our loudest bunch. Love that.

Okay, so we are gonna, we've got such a great program plan

for you and we're gonna run through

that program in just a minute,

but we also wanna make sure you know what's

happening after this program.

So I have a friend who's over in Ohio Stadium, my friend Mr.

Dante Ingram, who's gonna preview a little bit for you

what happens when you're done with convocation.

So Dante, take it away from Ohio Stadium.

Good morning Buckeyes

and welcome to the Ohio Stadium home of the Buckeyes,

affectionately known as this shoe.

We're excited to welcome you here this morning

where you'll be able to walk down the same ramp

that is utilized by the pride of the Buckeyes,

the Ohio State University marching band on game days.

To enter the field here in the shoe is so exciting.

So my name is Dante. We're

so excited you hear when you get down to the bottom

of the ramp today, make sure you're smiling

so when you look up, you see yourself

looking good on the big screen.

I'm excited. Introduce soon.

And one of my friends Cam,

who's block O football

director Cam, how you doing this morning?

I'm feeling pumped up and awesome this morning.

That is great Cam, I got one question for you.

What is your favorite game day tradition here in the shoe?

My favorite game day tradition Gotta be

that opening kickoff when that Seven Nation Army hits,

we all take up our shoe, we all jump up in the air, man,

it is electric and this environment is crazy.

Oh, we can't wait. Listen,

we're just a few days from kickoff,

but first we get to see you all here

and we are so excited for that.

We're going to end with the cheer

that we do often here in game days.

When we say OH, you say io. Oh

H.

Back to you Matt. Thank you so much Dante.

Alright, wanna do a little bit more checking in on

uh, where people are from.

So I know a lot of you have moved into your residence halls.

Those of you who are living on campus,

where are the south campus residence hall people.

Okay, alright, very good.

How about uh, the folks living in the towers, Morl

and Lincoln Tower Morl

and Lincoln Tower brought the energy this morning.

I love that. What about our north campus res halls? Yeah.

Okay, now how about our folks who live off campus

and might be commuting to campus?

Anybody off campus? Okay, we got a few. We got a few.

Love that. All right, so this is also, you're a part

of many communities at Ohio State.

Hopefully you'll be finding even more as you go,

but one of your communities is the

college that you're enrolled in.

So I want to do a little roll call for the colleges as well.

And um, so hopefully this is something that, you know, it's,

I'm not calling out majors but just colleges.

So where can I find our arts and sciences students?

That should be loud. That's the biggest group. Okay.

How about where are the Fisher College of Business students?

Oh, okay. What about our dentistry students?

Yeah, we've got a lot

of professional students enrolled in dentistry

and a few undergrads.

What about education and human ecology? Okay, very good.

Engineering, that's another big group. Alright, exploration.

Where are you? Yeah. Okay.

Greats, food, ag and Environmental Sciences.

Fantastic. All right.

I don't know if we've got anybody from our

Moritz College of Law.

No, we don't. Okay, how about people

who think they might go to law school later?

Any pre-law folks here? No. Okay. We got a few. Very good.

Um, how about our nursing students? Very good.

Optometry. Okay. More professional students.

How about our John Glenn College of Public Affairs

and Public Health?

Okay, we got a few. I hear you out there. Social work.

Woo woo woo. Great Veterinary medicine.

And finally, the graduate school.

We have any graduate students here today?

Okay, we do have a handful.

Alright, well, so you'll come

to understand you are taking classes

with people from all over the, uh,

all over the campus in an interdisciplinary setting

and can't wait for you to meet everybody.

So I need to do a little bit of an introduction here.

We're gonna start our program in just a minute,

but right now I'd like to bring out the president

of the Ohio State University.

Walter Ted Carter Jr.

Please give President Carter a big round of applause.

Here he comes.

Thanks. Class of 2029.

Welcome, welcome to the Ohio State University.

We have an amazing program for you today,

but I'm gonna start off with a surprise

right out of the gate.

I'm gonna bring a very special guest

up here to say hello to you.

The coach of the defending national championship football

team, coach Ryan Day,

OHOH Ohio,

Just ran outta meetings.

We had a great team meeting. It's game week.

It's game week here in Columbus.

So we are about to run out to practice,

but President Carter asked me to come over

and spend a few minutes with you guys and,

and I think it's important as this is your first week here

on campus for a couple reasons.

And so I would challenge everyone here who's starting

as a freshman to think about

what do you want the next four years to look like?

Because now's the time to think about those things.

What do you want it to look like?

You know, you, you had a high school career

and when you think back on your high school career,

there's certain things that you're proud

of that you've accomplished.

There's probably other things that you think about

during your high school career

that you probably could have done better

and you can learn from those opportunities.

So you're starting fresh here at Ohio State.

And so when you think of Ohio State,

think about opportunity.

There's nothing you can't accomplish here in

Columbus and at Ohio State.

It's unlike any other place in a country

and you're now a part of greatness.

So take this opportunity and do special things.

Leave it better than that. The way you found it.

President Carter will tell you this is the best time never

be a Buckeye with everything going on in the city

with the university

and with our leadership, you are here at a great time.

So take advantage of that.

Take advantage of every part of this great university.

But you're also part of a great tradition now.

You're part of the Buckeyes and we need you to be great fans

because we need everybody to go reach our goals.

You think about last year we needed everybody

and the students had a big part of it.

Your presence at games, your presence in the tailgates,

your presence on social media, your support

around campus means a lot to our players

and everybody has to play their part.

Now we gotta do our part

and at noon on Saturday, Texas is coming in

and one of our first goals is to beat Texas on Saturday.

And we need you guys to be loud.

We need you guys to show up

and we gotta make sure everybody understands

that we're defending the shoe on Saturday at noon.

So we gotta be loud. If you're in the stadium,

you gotta be loud right from the when the foot hits the ball

at kickoff to third downs.

Listen guys, when they have the ball,

we gotta make it really hard to communicate.

It has to be an advantage for us.

So if you're in that stadium, man,

like the minute they're on the ball, you guys gotta be

as loud as you possibly can.

They give you guys some towels.

Alright, lemme see those towels,

wave those towels real quick for you.

I wanna see what those are gonna look like

first time in the shoe.

Look at that. We have strength in numbers

and you are now part of the Buckeye great tradition.

If you're not of the game, bring the juice,

bring the energy whether you're in the tailgate,

whether you're at home cheering, we need everybody.

Let's go beat Texas. Go bucks. Back

Up after him. It's just me.

Awesome.

All right, how cool is that? Huh? How cool is that?

You start off your first day as a Buckeye

and you got the nation's best football coach coming in

here and getting you all fired up.

Hey, welcome again.

I can't tell you how excited I am

and on behalf of all of us at the Ohio State University,

I want to officially, officially welcome you as our newest

Buckeyes to campus.

So who is ready to get this academic year started?

Anybody from Bracket Tower here today?

How about Bracket Tower second floor? Are you here today?

All right, there was some pretty cool

kids that I got to meet on moving.

I thought I'd give 'em a quick shout out.

Again, I am so proud that you have chosen

the Ohio State University.

You know, you could have chosen a lot

of different universities all over the country

and yet you chose the Ohio State.

So I want to congratulate you on first of all

making what I would say is one

of the best decisions you could have ever made in your life.

You have chosen to come here.

Now I've been in this higher ed business a long time.

This is my 12th year leading higher ed at a lot

of different institutions and I would just tell you

my favorite event in academia

is commencement or graduation.

But my second favorite is this event right here convocation

because this is that moment, this is that moment

where you see your future, your life,

and it starts right here

and it's gonna be so exciting.

Everything you'll do for the rest of your life will start

and be shaped by what's happening right here today

and classes starting tomorrow.

The friends that you will make

that will change your life forever.

And again, I'm just so excited

that you chose the Ohio State University.

Now I wanna bring up some, uh, special friends here.

We're gonna bring up Dr. Melissa Shivers and Dr.

Robbie Beamon.

You wanna take a seat?

You can go ahead and take a seat

and then we'll yeah, Ravi. Yep. Thank

You.

And we're gonna be getting on with the program here,

but uh, before we do, what's you're gonna get chance

to see today is just to learn some of our history, some

of our culture, and learn about some

of the greatest traditions that we have here.

So as you're getting ready to start as a class of 2029,

you have to think back to the history

that we have here at the Ohio State University.

We go all the way back to 18 70, 18 70

on September 17th, 1873.

Uh, we will celebrate the start

of the very first class that came here.

A class of 24 students, two

of whom were women imagine 1873 having two women in a class

of 24 to start here

and what had been previously just known as the Neil Farm.

And if you go all the way back to that time

and think about this institution, one of the things

that is really important to us is our symbols.

So I wanna talk about that as we, as we start

to get into uh, what we're all about.

You'll see throughout the university in many different

places, the seal, the seal of the Ohio State University.

It's over 150 years old now.

And as you look at that seal

and if you look at where that seal is,

it's in many different places at the east

and west ends of the oval

and the floor of the Great Hall of Ohio Union,

and maybe most importantly stamped on the diploma

of every student who earns an Ohio State degree.

Agree. And as you look at the various components

of the crest and notice things like the Buckeye leaf,

our founding year of 1870,

and the Latin motto that translates to education

for citizenship, I want to call your attention

to the pyramid above the block o on top

of which sits a flame.

So you can see on the screen there's a video

when the original University Seal was designed in 1871,

the flame that sits atop there was described this way

above and crowning all.

We place the lamp of knowledge by which we intend to signify

that the agricultural

and mechanical college is a light on a high

place to illuminate.

All that comes within its sphere.

Each and every one of you is a point of light

that contributes to the intensity of that flame.

Today I want to invite you

to do something really special right now I want you

to break out your phones and put on the

flashlight on all of your phones.

So everybody go ahead and do that now.

That is beautiful. I wish you could

see what you all look like.

It is super cool right now as you progress

through your academic journey, your light is feeding

that eternal flame on top of the lamp of knowledge

on the night before graduation.

Four years from now, we will gather again

for a beautiful tradition,

the commencement Eve candlelight ceremony where

that eternal flame will take center stage that night.

We'll come together one last time

before you become official alumni of Ohio State

and you will share that flame with your families

and classmates as we sing Carmen Ohio.

It's a moment that I know you can't wait for

and I can't wait to share it with you in just four years

and those that have helped you reach

that milestone will be there with you.

But for now, and that's why today is so special,

let's enjoy the start of this journey.

You know, the centerpiece of the soundtrack of your life

as a Buckeye is Carmen Ohio.

As I wrap up here today, you're gonna get a chance

to learn more about it.

I just wanna say again, thank you for choosing Ohio State

best decision you will have ever made in your life

and as always, go bucks,

Go bucks.

Please welcome your senior Vice President

for Student Life, Dr.

Melissa Shivers.

Good morning Buckeyes.

Carmen Ohio is our school song

otherwise known as our alma mater.

And it reminds us that the joy

and privilege of being here to learn

and grow as a member of this community endures no matter

what happens around us,

the name literally translates from Latin to Ohio's song

or song of Ohio.

Here's a fun fact about Carmen Ohio for you.

The first time it was ever performed in public was at a

convocation ceremony in 1903.

Though the venue university hall, the size of the audience

and the nature of the program were quite a bit different

than what we are experiencing today.

Carmen Ohio is perhaps even more significant now

than it was on that historic occasion.

Fred Cornell, a member of the class

of 1906 wrote three verses of Carmen Ohio

and said it to the tune

of Spanish hymn when Ohio State was in need

of a school song.

Since its first public performance

by the University Glee Club, it has been sung hundreds

of thousands if not millions of times by groups of Buckeyes,

large and small on campus and all over the world.

You're gonna hear it quite a bit at convocations

and commencements, sporting events and special occasions.

And if you're like many of us in your own head as you walk

around our beautiful campus,

Carmen Ohio unites us all as an enduring tradition.

And today as you learn it

and eventually sing it together as a class,

we want you to think about each line

and the meaning it can hold for you both an individual

and as member of the Ohio State community.

In order to do that, we'll be asking

for some help from a few friends

and I am proud to present to you the Men's Glee Club,

which has graciously agreed to walk us

through Carmen a little bit at a time while we pause

to connect each line with some of our history

and traditions.

First many renditions of Carmen, especially those

by our extraordinary marching band, begin

with the representation of the chimes

of the Orton Hall Bell Tower.

When you hear that, it's your cue to find fellow Buckeyes

put your arms around their shoulders.

We'll show you when we bring it all together

in just a few minutes.

The Men's Glee Club was organized in 1975,

making it 1 18 75, making it one

of the oldest organizations on campus

and they have been sharing their musical talents ever since,

recognized as one of America's top 10 collegiate tenor

and bass choirs.

The Men's Glee Club is comprised

of singers from across the campus with 84%

of the singers majoring in a discipline other than music.

Please welcome the Ohio State Men's Glee Club.

Let's

To get us started on our tour through the lines

of Carmen, Ohio.

I am very pleased to introduce our executive vice president

and provost if you're not familiar with what a provost does.

This is the university's chief academic officer

who oversees the deans of all the colleges

and the regional campuses as well as the Office

of Academic Affairs and,

and more than 8,500 faculty members.

Please join me in welcoming Dr. Ravi Beum Kanda.

Thank thank you Dr. Shiva. Welcome to Ohio State.

Um, as we sing, uh, the praises of our university,

I'd like us to reflect a little bit about what

that first line means and what we actually are praising.

You're now part of one of the most important

and finest land grant institutions in the nation.

Congratulations. And what does that mean?

It is not just a land grant university,

but it is a university dedicated to academic excellence

that you represent

and join today academic excellence in research

and in the education more than 200 majors

that we offer at this university.

And today when we praise the university,

we praise the community of scholars

that you are joining today of faculty, of staff, and now you

and your classmates.

And I look forward

to seeing you challenge yourself academically,

to taking on the hard work of being a great student.

And we are confident each one of you belongs here.

Each one of you has been chosen from a pool

of 88,000 applications that we received.

You belong here and we look forward to you communicating

and at contributing to the community of scholars

that we become And now we come to the most important moment

of this particular part of the song.

You have some envelopes with you, I believe.

If you don't mind, please open the envelope.

In the envelope you will find

at tassel like this.

This is very special.

It is very similar to the tassel

that you will all be wearing when you graduate

four years from now.

You're given this tassel today to as a symbol to remind you

of that goal and the journey between now

and then when you'll grow as a person, make friends,

enjoy great moments of victory in the football

and in your personal life, and you grow as a scholar

and become a part of the community of scholars

that is Ohio State.

Welcome to Ohio State.

Please keep this at some point place at your desk

or some someplace where it visibly serves you as a guide

to that moment to look forward to when you graduate.

Welcome again to Ohio State.

I look forward to getting to you all, know you all, uh,

personally thank you

And songs

to race.

I'm Joshua Ford,

a fourth year aviation major from Johanna, Ohio

and drum major for the Ohio State University Marching band.

We are fortunate to have a legacy

of incredible talent raising songs to alma mater

bands like 21 Pilots, rascal Flats, OAR

and the Breeders all feature Ohio State alumni.

That legacy continues today

with over a hundred performance-based student organizations

in theater, music and dance,

and a spectacular range of university ensembles and visual

and performing arts majors.

Of course, our marching band has a bit of a following too.

What an amazing time for the arts at Ohio State.

With all this student talent

and some of our newest campus facilities popping up in our

blossoming arts district,

the arts surround us in powerful ways here on

campus and in our city.

And even if you don't plan to make a career out

of your own talents, we'll hope you find inspiration in the

brilliance of others'.

Artistic expressions. Notice what's on the walls

in campus buildings.

Go to student performances, walk through the Wexner Center

for the Arts and the Billy Island Cartoon Library

And if you're lucky enough to catch one

of these gift cards parachuting down, now you can enjoy some

of the city's incredible art scene courtesy

of the Discount Ticket program D ticks,

which you can find at the Ohio Union Info Center.

DT IX helped you explore Columbus at about half the cost,

so make sure you see what DT IX has to offer

that might interest you.

Some of you might be catching a pair of free tickets

to Columbus Museum of Art, the Gateway Film Center

or cosi.

Two of you will grab a pair of tickets

to see comedian Kevin Hart

who will be here in this arena in October.

Good morning, Buckeyes. My name is Justin Robinson.

I'm a fifth year communications major from Canton, Ohio

and I'm currently the president

of the undergraduate student Government.

I'm Sabrina Durso,

a fourth year PhD student in English literature from Port

Huron, Michigan and the president

of the Council of Graduate Students.

And I'm Emily Williams,

a fourth year dental student from North Jackson, Ohio

and president of the Interprofessional Council.

As many of you saw at yesterday's involvement fair,

the culture of student involvement at Ohio State is

unrivaled and at the heart of it all is the community

of more than 1400 student organizations.

As we hope you recall from orientation,

Ohio State has an expectation of every Buckeye

that you're getting meaningful involvement

in at least one thing.

In addition to classwork, undergraduates, graduates

and professional students

who are involved typically have a better outcome like higher

GPAs, higher likelihood of graduating

and developing skills employers want

than students who are not involved.

Because we can find community

and belonging with other Buckeyes based on our hobbies,

interests per professional aspirations

and other aspects of who we are,

these organizations create rebounding, thrill for tens

of thousands of students

and highlight the powerfully unique aspects

of our student body.

Getting involved in groups

with other students will also help you get

to know yourself even better.

How your strengths show up, how your values compare,

who you want to become involvement can lead

to leadership opportunities

and there's not a career out there that can't use people

with more leadership experience.

Use the Get involved tab on the Ohio State app

to help you find ways to get connected.

Why don't you go ahead and take a look at that right now.

Seriously, Just like the demo we're showing you on screen

right now, open up the Ohio State app,

then look at the very bottom for the get involved tab.

Then you should see a button that says convocation giveaway.

It will only be there for the next few minutes.

This should give your heart some rebounding thrill.

Tap on the button, submit your name and email

and you may be one of our randomly drawn winners

for 25 extra buck, 25 extra dollars on your buck id.

Even if you don't want to enter the drawing, now you know

where to get involved at all year.

Joy can still,

I'm Dr. Ken

Fujita, professor

of psychology here at the Ohio State University.

There's no greater joy than engaging in acts

of kindness for others.

Buckeyes show care and compassion for each other every day

and we always give what we can wherever we may be,

whether it be through local service with pay it forward,

supporting communities further away

through meal packing events and Buckeye serve trips

or raising money

and support through philanthropic efforts like

BuckeyeThon, Ohio.

Students spread joy through service

and Buckeye love all, all over the world.

Acts of kindness and caring

for people is not only ingrained in our culture as Buckeyes,

we know from empirical research that service

to others also has a

positive benefits on our own health and wellbeing.

There are many ways

to volunteer on campus in our medical center

and with hundreds of community partners around Columbus.

I'm Aza Raf,

a fourth year majoring in biomedical science from Mason,

Ohio and the president of Athon this year.

Buck Athon is an exciting tradition

and critical philanthropic partnership here at Ohio State.

Our year-round awareness

and fundraising efforts for the hematology, oncology

and blood and marrow transplant units at Nationwide

Children's Hospital culminates in a 12 hour

dance marathon in February.

Last year we raised over $850,000

and I'd like to personally invite you to join thousands

of students in our mission to end pediatric cancer

and blood disorders today.

I'm so excited to announce that

for every person sitting in the row

that our BuckeyeThon students have selected

Germane Automotive Partnerships will donate $50

to BuckeyeThon in your name.

We hope that this generous donation helps kickstart your

fundraising efforts to fight childhood cancer

and that you'll all consider getting involved.

Big thanks again to Jermaine Automotive

for their continued support of BuckeyeThon

Winter.

Hi everyone. I'm Emma Helen Camp,

a third year sport industry major from San Diego, California

and a member of the 13 time national champion

Ohio State Dance Team.

No matter what the conditions are outside summer's heat

or winter's cold, Buckeye student athletes from all 36

varsity sports, including the dance team,

are putting in the work to represent Ohio State

and compete for Big 10 and National Championships.

The relationship between Ohio state's varsity teams,

the student body and the rest

of Buckeye Nation is one of the best there is.

And when you come out to support the teams at home games

with Blanco creating the vibe,

you give us an amazing home field advantage.

We sing Carmen after every game, so make sure you stay

to the end to sing it with us.

If you haven't met him yet,

you should know about a special guy who's there

for us in summer's heat, winter's cold

and everything in between.

He goes by the name of Brutus Buckeye.

This guy right here, he happens

to be turning 60 years old this year.

We're going to celebrate his birthday by attempting

to set a Guinness World record

for the most people wearing the same hat.

In this case a birthday party hat on October 29th at

5:30 PM in Ohio Stadium.

We'll provide the hat you just need to bring yourself.

Some of you might get

to wear an exclusive Brutus t-shirt if you're lucky enough

to catch one

Oh and one more thing, even if you weren't lucky enough

to catch one of Brutus shirts.

If you look inside your envelope,

you should find a little gift from Nike Scan the QR code

that's either on the bracelet

or in your envelope to sign up for the Nike You Move program

and Nike will even give you a free t-shirt

to welcome you all to Buckeye Nation.

You can get your shirt at the OUAB block Party on the South

Oval this Wednesday night.

Go bucks.

The seasons.

A lot of seasons have passed

and years have certainly rolled since Ohio State opened its

doors to its first students

and for that entire time,

we have enjoyed an amazing relationship

with the city of Columbus.

The years aren't the only things that roll.

I believe I see a Coda bus pulling into the

arena right now.

Let's see who's on it.

Buckeyes, please welcome Columbus Mayor, Andrew Ginther.

Oh Io oh io.

Welcome to Columbus New Buckeyes.

We are thrilled to have you here in our city.

I've had the privilege of serving this city

for nearly 10 years and I couldn't be more excited.

This is like a first day for all of us

and I am so excited to have some

of our great friends with us.

Let me introduce some of the mascots from

what I hope will become one of your new favorite teams.

After the Buckeyes of course,

we've got Crew Cat from our three time

MLS Cup Champion Soccer Club, the Columbus Crew

Lucille, and Crash from our Columbus Clippers,

the Triple A Baseball affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians

and of course Stinger from our National Hockey League

franchise, the Columbus Blue Jackets.

How many of you are coming to Ohio State from the city

of Columbus or one of our surrounding communities?

Give it up. Well,

hopefully you have already had

some amazing experiences here in Columbus

and this will be an incredible time for you

to be here in our city.

We are so proud

that Columbus is the 15th largest city in America,

but if you're from here, you may not know

that Columbus ranks in the top five in the country

as a best US city for new college graduates

and a top place for young professionals to live.

And we continue

to earn national recognition in city rankings

of everything from our food and art to our zoo

and science museum.

If you've never lived here

before, I think you're gonna be blown away

by all the things that there are to do.

We want you to not just live here

but love this place, not just the festivals, food arts,

sports and events, but also the internships,

the service opportunities,

and so many things that will make you want to stay

in Columbus after you graduate.

Ohio State students have unlimited access

to all code of bus routes.

The bus doesn't usually pull right up in the middle

of the Schottenstein Center like this one,

but the number two does go up and down High Street

and can get you to some of the most vibrant

hotspots in the city at no cost to you.

There are many opportunities within a short walk bike

or a scooter ride from Ohio State

and we're building more bike lanes and trails all the time.

We really want you to think about Columbus, not just

as the place to study, but as a place to truly live

and grow, lay down roots

and raise your families here in the future.

We couldn't be more excited to have you here with us.

I always say to folks, welcome home

because even if you weren't born here,

our mission in this community is to make sure we're safe

and welcoming to all.

So Buckeyes, welcome home.

Thank you for allowing me to be part of this day with you

and best of luck this semester and beyond no h.

All right, new Buckeyes.

On behalf of the entire city of Columbus,

we wanna give you a proper welcome to kick things off.

Get ready for the Columbus Prize Patrol.

We've got incredible prizes from local companies

who can't wait to welcome you to our new city.

Listen up and when you hear your section number

get ready to celebrate.

Let's start with some of the city's most fun food spots,

sections 1 0 4 and 1 34.

You are getting free fries from Smashburger

sections 2 0 3 to 10 and 3 0 5.

Get free coffee from Marin's Coffee in the June to hotel.

Section 3 0 5 is also winning a free hotdog

from Dirty Franks.

This city is home to some incredible iconic companies.

Many of them got their start right here

and they're excited to have you.

Sections 1 0 6

and one 11, you're winning a free breakfast sandwich from

White Castle, section

2 0 5 and the floor section near one 14.

Get a free pick from the entire White Castle menu.

Section 2 0 7 is winning a free pizza from Donatos

sections 2 0 4 and the floor close to 1 0 5.

You're winning free frosty tags from Wendy's.

That means free frosties with every purchase until December.

Brutus is roaming the aisles with major gift cards to some

of downtown's best spots.

We have gift cards from Cameron, Mitchell restaurants

and the Rusty Bucket, along

with gift cards from the gay Street district

featuring a Rockery Pizza.

Sarah Gomley Gallery, Ettes Hanks

X's wallets, the original peanut shop, LaMi Seur,

black Kaha Coffee and alumni owned du Amica.

The Gay Street district is a vibrant, walkable neighborhood

with unique shops, fantastic restaurants,

and beautiful public art,

including the stunning current sculpture

that hangs over high in gay streets.

It's a must see

and you can get there easily on the Coda Bus.

Number two. Last

but not least, Donatos Pizza wants

to make sure everyone feels like a winner.

As you exit today, grab a $5 gift card

so you can get a slice of Columbus' Iconic Pizza.

Welcome to the Buckeye family and welcome to Columbus.

Good morning future Ohio State alumni.

I know that seems like a long way away, but it really isn't

because your alumni journey starts today.

I'm Molly Rands Calhoun, senior vice president and President

and CEO of the Ohio State University Alumni Association,

and it's great to be here with you this morning

because you're, oh, sorry.

Time and change will surely show words

that will echo throughout your Ohio State journey.

They speak to how you will grow

and change during your time with us here on campus.

This is just the beginning of your story here at Ohio State

Home of the Dreamers, innovators, national Champions,

and of course, the best damn band in the land.

So now take the final item out of your envelope,

your block o pin.

It may look simple, but it represents so much.

It represents connection to a family

of more than 630,000 Living Buckeye alumni.

It represents tradition 155 years

of excellence at the Ohio State University,

and it represents pride, the kind

that you feel walking into a job interview

and the hiring manager just happens to be from

that school up north.

When you wear this pin, it connects you to generations

of Buckeyes who came

before you into the lifetime journey

you are beginning today.

It's a reminder that at Ohio State,

you are never just a student.

You are part of something bigger, something lasting.

You are a Buckeye for life, so be bold, challenge yourself

and soak up every opportunity that Ohio State has to offer.

The friendships and stories you create here will last a

lifetime and remember, your Buckeye family will be here

cheering you on because life is all about the moments in

the Ohio State family.

There's always so much to share and even more to celebrate.

Welcome to the Family Go box,

My

I'm Kate ler, a

Third year biology major from Phoenix, Maryland,

and a resident advisor in Mor Tower.

I'm Liam Hughes, a third year voice performance

and political science double major from Beaver Creek, Ohio,

also an RA in Mor Tower.

And I'm Liam McCarty,

a third year political science major from Dayton, Ohio

and an off-campus community ambassador.

It all comes down to this last line,

which might be the one that best represents all

of Carmen Ohio.

Friendships are so important to our success at Ohio State

College can be really challenging

and none of us gets

through without a little help from someone.

Meeting people is easier for some than it is for others,

but at a school where we look out for each other

and even sing songs about firm friendship together,

we should always be open to the opportunity

to make a connection.

Every one of you can find your own small community here,

but if it doesn't happen right away, just be patient.

We can assure you that you will soon find your people,

places, and favorite things to do.

The number one piece of advice that I can give you about

that show up, there are so many opportunities

to connect at Ohio State,

and we've talked about several of them today.

Participate actively in classes

and study groups, join student organizations,

attend campus events, go to Buckeye games.

You have a much better chance

of finding friendship when you show up

and just be your authentic self.

You may find your people where you live in your college,

in a student org or at your job,

or you might find yourself sitting next

to a new friend you haven't met

yet in a dining hall at an OUAB event,

or maybe even right here today.

If you're open to making a friend, that will happen for you

and your Buckeye journey will be much better for it.

What we'd like you to do now is to capture this moment

with a selfie that includes one

or more of the people sitting near you.

I know it might be a little awkward if you're sitting

with people you don't know yet,

but we hope that you'll play along.

Of course, make sure you introduce yourself first if you

haven't met once you've taken that photo, if you're all okay

to share it, post it to Instagram using the hashtag hashtag

how firm th friendship.

Go ahead and take just a couple of moments

to take those selfies.

Get it out.

We get, can we get one with you in the back? Yeah.

You wanna hold it up?

You wanna hold it? Liam, we all

you hold it Ready?

Yeah.

We'd encourage you to keep these photos on your reel

and if you run into your new friend later in the year

or further down the road, maybe take another one together.

We know that a meaningful relationship has

to be based on more than just a photo op

during your first Ohio State Welcome week.

But hey, who knows, this could be the start

of a beautiful friendship a few years from now when you get

closer to graduation,

if you're still in close enough communication

to post together again, we'd love to have you post one more

to show us how it started and how it's going.

Your firm friendship could be featured in

that year's commencement week festivities.

Thank you. And go Bucks.

Go bucks. We got it all like

we got it all like we got it all.

Like 3, 2, 1, go. We got the moves and we don't quit.

Everybody knows how we do win. Always gonna first.

Can't do it. We got the goods like we got the goods

like gotta shine bright.

Big show. Gotta product, big explode.

Best of the best. They all know we got the goods,

like we got the goods like,

Oh, we got it all here.

We make it magic, like, whoa,

it's all here.

We make it like

Three, two.

We making

How about a hand for Kate, William, Liam,

and all my friends

who just helped us break down Carmen, Ohio.

In just a minute we'll have the moment.

We've been building up to all morning as we'll,

seeing Carmen together for the first time.

But first, as we prepare to conclude our program

and lead you all on a walk over to Buckeye Frenzy,

it is not lost on me.

How obvious. A couple of more connections

between your convocation and your commencement really are.

Those of you who graduate in the summer

or fall will do so right here in this space.

Summer's heat and winter's cold,

both necessitate an indoor venue for graduates

and their guests in August as well as in December.

Our walk today will pass through Ohio Stadium, the site

of commencement for our spring graduates.

Carriers of those college banners will head this way,

and then the next time you see those banners will be at

your commencement ceremony.

So here's what's happening next.

In just a moment after we sing Carmen,

we will all follow the procession of college banners over

to Ohio Stadium as you walk down the ramp to get

to the field, make sure to look up on

that giant video board on the south end to see yourself.

You will continue out the southeast corner of the stadium

where Buckeye Frenzy, which is a festival of free food

and giveaways, will be awaiting you at the Rpac.

So now that we've taken some time this morning

to connect each line of Carmen with an important aspect

of the student experience at Ohio State, it is time

to put it all together

and join in the singing of our alma mater.

But first, first, there's a tiny bit

of choreography to know about

and it starts with finding some fellow Buckeyes

to stand next to.

Sometimes we get in a large circle.

Other times like today we'll just stand where we are

and put our arms around the shoulders of the people

to our left and to our right.

Then there's the sway.

As soon as the music starts,

we gently rock back and forth.

It's a beautiful thing when we can stay in sync

for the whole song.

But I think we've all had a Carmen experience

where the person on our left is swaying one way,

and the person on our right is swaying another way.

Even if you collide,

Carmen is always better when it's shared with others.

Finally, when we get to the final OHIO,

we let go of each other

and use our arms

to make out the O and the H.

To finish things off today,

we'll play the marching band's version of the Orton Chimes

to get things started

and then we'll follow the lead of the Men's Glee Club

as we all sing together.

Cue those chimes

Come. Let's see

More

Praise Andal to

All

With Joy

Mercy,

the seasons

On behalf of President Carter

and the entire senior leadership, our outstanding faculty

and staff of the university, we wish you the very best

of luck on your Buckeye journey.

We will be with you every step of the way.

With that, I would like

to bring Ohio State's 2025 president's

convocation to a close.

Have a scarlet and great welcome week.

Enjoy your first day of classes tomorrow

and is absolutely always go bucks.

It may be hard for you to stop and believe for you.

Keep my hands On myself.