The Class of 2016 Matriculates at McKendree University
Lebanon, Ill. - Most of them were born in 1994, the year that O.J. Simpson fled L.A.
in a white Bronco, Lisa Marie Presley married Michael Jackson, and figure skater Nancy
Kerrigan got bashed in the kneecap.
They are the Class of 2016, whose students have arrived at McKendree University with
their e-readers, smart phones, tablets, iPods and mp3 players. They have come from
cities, small towns and suburbs in 18 states and every hemisphere. While most - 79
percent of 305 first-year students - call Illinois their home, others are citizens
of Canada, Tajikistan, Ghana, Ireland, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
Like their predecessors, they are academic achievers, with an average grade point
of 3.5. Over half of McKendree freshmen graduated in the upper 30 percent of their
high school graduating class and 76 percent received an academic scholarship. Fourteen
percent have a parent, grandparent or sibling who attended McKendree.
Nine out of ten first-year students - as well as nearly half of the 135 transfer students
from community colleges and other four-year institutions—have chosen to live on campus.
On Aug. 23, the new students signed the matricula - an official document that starts
their college career - during the opening convocation, a McKendree tradition.
Just a few months ago, these students celebrated high school graduation with family
and friends; now school is new and unfamiliar once more. The first-year students will
meet new friends quickly, however, during three full days of orientation, fun activities
and “Into the Streets” community service. Classes resume on Aug. 27.
View Photo Gallery
- McK -
