Along with the excitement of getting adjusted to new classmates, juggling schedules, buying supplies, and meeting their professors, the approximately 800 first-year students who will comprise SUNY Old Westbury’s Class of 2030 took part in one of the campus’ key academic traditions – the Fall Convocation for New Students.
Held in the Clark Athletic Center on September 10, 2026, the 2026 convocation brought the students together with the University President, faculty and staff and set the stage for the year ahead.
Bonnie Eannone, first-year class dean, kicked off the ceremony with words of wisdom as she shared her three-step “recipe for success” with students: get involved, make friends and stay on your academic path.
Throughout the ceremony, students were called on to be conscientious learners who engage with their peers and pursue their passions and talents.
“College is hard work and college is fun,” said Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs David Lanoue. “That seems contradictory, but it’s not. You’ll see.”
Themes surrounding the ethical use of artificial intelligence and ways to use AI as a tool instead of a replacement for thinking were discussed. In an age of AI expansion, students were encouraged to remain critical thinkers rather than solely rely on AI.
Representing the faculty, Associate Professor of Sociology Peter Ikeler led the conversation on human intelligence as he presented students with a list of decision-making scenarios and had them consider how they would approach each situation.
“These are questions that demand all of you,” Ikeler said. “Not just a specific fact, data trend, algorithmic process or ethical standard, but the integration of all of these in a situated, real-time, fully human capacity.”
He noted that those questions could be answered by factual knowledge, critical thinking and interpersonal abilities gained in a college setting.
In addition to the staff and faculty speakers, Mohanlall Teloki ’04 was welcomed back to the campus to deliver an inspiring speech about integrity as he reflected on his journey and raised questions to students about who they want to be.
Today the director of the Office of Student Life at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Teloki invited students to honor their potential, their community of support, their heritage and contributions and themselves as they navigate their own journeys and their places in the world.
“When the world around you makes peace with what is wrong, may you have the strength to remain aligned with what is right,” Teloki said.
SUNY Old Westbury President Timothy Sams closed the ceremony with encouragement and the meaning of becoming “OW Made” as he prompted students to be curious, rigorous, engaged, creative, kind, and above all, to be themselves.
“The manifestation of that ‘OW Made’ graduate is one who is well-trained and prepared for their chosen field and career pursuits,” he said. “One who is well-informed about our vibrantly diverse world and its vicissitudes. And one who is well-positioned to make a difference in that world as a person of consequence. This is what we mean when we say OW Made, and this, we believe, will enable you to own your future.”