WILLIAMSBURG — William & Mary welcomed 1,650 incoming freshmen and 215 transfer students — its largest transfer cohort in 14 years — during its 333rd Opening Convocation on Wednesday.
This year, the familiar backdrop of the Sir Christopher Wren building, the oldest building on campus, looked a little different: the building is undergoing historic preservation, and fencing and scaffolding now mask the building’s storied brickwork.
Convocation remarks were delivered by Darpan Kapadia, a 1995 alumnus who is chief operating officer of LS Power and vice chair of the William & Mary Foundation Board of Trustees. The appearance of Kapadia, who works in renewable and sustainable energy, was especially timely, as 2025 marks the Year of the Environment at William & Mary — a yearlong university initiative to advance sustainability efforts and global environmental impact.
President Katherine Rowe has described Kapadia as being“at the forefront of transformation in the energy sector.”
“You will never have more agency over your time than you do right now,” Kapadia told crowd. “It’s likely that one of your experiences on campus will be your most formative.”
He encouraged students to not be predictable or get caught on the “treadmill of life,” but to take risks and try new things.
Nico Giro-Martin and DeVaughn Henry, presidents of the junior and sophomore classes, unfurl the Class of 2029 banner during Wednesday’s convocation ceremony at William & Mary. Ongoing renovations at the Wren building necessitated the hard hats and other personal protective equipment. Stephen Salpukas/William & Mary
Themes of continuity and change — modern restoration amid historic tradition — resonated throughout the ceremony. The university’s land acknowledgement, adopted in August 2020 to acknowledge the Indigenous peoples who originally inhabited the land, preceded opening remarks by Provost Peggy Agouris, who quoted both Socrates and the television show “Ted Lasso.”
Rowe addressed the construction (which she called the “‘Wren-ovation’ — do you hear the silent ‘w’?”) as a metaphor for institutional care and progress.
“Institutions do not sustain themselves,” she told the audience. “They are built, and they are maintained for the future. It is up to us to be magnificent builders of the future together.”
The unfurling of the class banner by junior and sophomore class presidents Nico Giro-Martin and DeVaughn Henry over the Wren building — a William & Mary tradition — also required adaptation. This year, three students in yellow safety vests and white hard hats sat on a constructed ledge above the Wren’s archway to unfurl the Class of 2029’s banner over a printed version of the Wren’s original facade.
Rowe also presented the President’s Award for Service to the Community to Katherine Barko-Alva, an ESL/bilingual associate professor, and to senior Hannah Wolfe.
Following the ceremony, the incoming class walked through the Wren building — another tradition — and into the Sunken Garden, where they were greeted by cheering students, faculty and community members.
But before ringing the ceremonial bell to lead the new class through the Wren, Rowe quoted the rulebook from her favorite sport, ultimate frisbee.
“Highly competitive play is encouraged, but never at the expense of the basic joy of play,” she said. She then tossed a frisbee into the crowd, where it was caught by one of the many outstretched hands of the Class of 2029.
Lelia Cottin-Rack, lcottinrack@gmail.com

