August 24, 2026
Dear Students,
Happy first day of classes! I’m always inspired by the start of a new academic year: the energy of students on Stine Lake, our classrooms filled with teaching and learning, and the sense of possibility that comes with new beginnings.
To our returning students, welcome home! To our Class of 2030 and new transfer students, welcome to this extraordinary community! We’re all better because you’re here.
As I shared with our first-year students at Opening Convocation, if there is one piece of advice I’d offer you, it would be to approach this year with wonder.
Wonder inspires us to dig deeper. It makes us curious. It encourages the humility that fosters open, honest, and respectful listening to views that may not be the same as those we hold—and, from that, a fuller reflection of what we believe and why.
That’s the power of a Gettysburg education. That’s also the root of authentic learning, and the personal and intellectual growth that will lead you to live a truly consequential life. Indeed, that’s what we want for every one of you as Gettysburgians.
As you embark on the fall semester, embody this sense of wonder by introducing yourself to a professor whose work fascinates you. Make time to attend a lecture, theatre performance, athletics event, Sunderman Conservatory concert, or campus tradition you haven’t been to before. Join a club that challenges you. Explore the battlefield. Get to know a hallmate or teammate whose life experience is vastly different than your own. You may be surprised by what you discover—about our community, about one another, and about yourself.
I can’t wait for where wonder will lead you, and for all that we will achieve together. Have a great year!
Sincerely,
Bob Iuliano
President