The key note speaker was Jack Nolen, vice-president of student affairs. After telling a short anecdote about the Pope visiting New York City, he got on with the ceremony. As Nolen spoke to the audience, he strongly emphasized the need for students to better educate themselves while in college. A much larger task is to get an education while earning a degree. Nolen then encouraged students to focus more on the core curriculum.
Some students view the core as an obstacle.
Nolen told the students in the audience to get the most out of GSU while they are still in college. Education at Georgia Southern is more than classes. It is the whole college experience. Don't limit yourselves. It's your education and it's up to you.