Bro. Fortune Onwuzurike Gives Keynote for the 2023 GSU First-Year Students Convocation

In academia, the word “convocation” refers to a ceremonial assembly of the members of a college or university. At Georgia State, First-Year Convocation is a formal and fun ceremony that welcomes all new students to the University and marks the beginning of their academic careers.  First-Year Convocation is also part of Panther Welcome, a series of events hosted across all campuses that gives new and returning students an opportunity to celebrate the start of the semester.

Georgia State University this week began welcoming nearly 15,000 new students to its Atlanta and Perimeter College campuses, along with more than 35,000 students returning for the start of the 2023-24 academic year.

Of those 15,000 new enrollees, more than 7,200 are attending college for the first time.

The first day of classes on Monday followed Sunday’s First-Year Convocation ceremony, held for the first time in the university’s 8,000-capacity Convocation Center, which opened in 2022 but not in time to host the event that year. First-Year Convocation, with much of the pomp and circumstance of a commencement ceremony, welcomes incoming first-year students to Georgia State with a guest speaker, remarks from university leaders, the first-year pledge and performances of the university fight song and alma mater.

Brother Dr. Fortune E. Onwuzurike (Spring 2014), co-founder of Tech Is the Wave and Cybersecurity Program Manager at Microsoft, will deliver the keynote address to this year's incoming class. Fortune was a 2022 Georgia State Alumni 40 Under 40 honoree, and through his business he helps to connect students with endless opportunities available within the technology industry.

View the full live-stream here.