New Student Convocation: A kickoff for fall semester

UW-Madison's Convocation event welcomes new and transfer students to campus to celebrate the beginning of the fall semester.

On Tuesday, September 1, all new Badgers - from incoming first-year to transfer students - are invited to join Interim Chancellor Eric Wilcots for the Fall 2026 New Student Convocation ceremony. Hosted in the Kohl Center, the event is a celebration that welcomes new University of Wisconsin-Madison students to campus and shares advice through featured speakers, including Provost John Zumbrunnen and Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Lori Reesor.

Azi Fanale, a rising junior at UW, is this year's student Convocation speaker. Originally from Colorado, Fanale said strong academic programs and the idea of a welcoming culture were what drew her into choosing UW-Madison.

"Midwest hospitality is such a thing and Madison's student body is no exception," Fanale says. There's no day where I've gone without feeling supported."

Fanale juggles several majors and certificates, taking advantage of the cross-disciplinary nature of UW's programs. While she originally started as a neurobiology major, Fanale leaned on campus advisors to navigate interests in healthcare policy, leading her to switch to studying political science, international studies and philosophy with certificates in global health and history after her freshman year.

In addition to her academic experience, Fanale is familiar with the many different emotions of attending college. What began as uncertainty about navigating UW's larger student population became the support Fanale needed for her academic career.

"Something that I was worried about coming to such a big school was, 'How am I going to find my people? How am I going to connect with professors?' That fear has completely gone away in the past few years," Fanale says.

Convocation, like other Wisconsin Welcome events, is designed to help build a foundation for support with resources that new students can use for years to come. Pre-Convocation events include academic programming and orientations and a Chancellor's welcome lunch.

New students then attend the Convocation ceremony, where they hear from campus leaders and student speaker Fanale. The featured speakers share lived experiences, tips to handling the transition into college and information on the extensive amount of resources UW offers.

Convocation places a strong emphasis on providing new students with the tools to answer the question of how they can best benefit from their time and resources at UW-Madison.

Fanale's advice for new students, and perhaps a teaser for her speech, is: "Be a sponge in everything from classes to clubs, and be open to every opportunity that Madison has to offer."