With open arms and an open heart, Fitchburg State University President Donna Hodge gleamed with pride as she spoke at the International Student Welcome session on Thursday afternoon in the Hammond Main Lounge.
“Welcome to Fitchburg State University,” Hodge said. “As an international student, you've embarked on an incredible journey to join our vibrant and diverse community. We understand that navigating a new country and a different academic system can be both exciting and challenging, and we are here to support you every step of the way. Our International Student Welcome is designed to help you acclimate to campus life, connect with fellow students and faculty, and introduce you to the resources available to ensure your success at Fitchburg State and beyond. We are thrilled to have you here and look forward to helping you make Fitchburg your home away from home.”
A total of 44 new international students from 19 different countries officially join the Fitchburg State University community, bringing languages, cultures, and life experiences that will broaden and strengthen the campus.
“Among you are future scientists, artists, educators, and leaders—and even a few Falcons who will represent us as student-athletes on the field, on the ice, and in the gym,” Hodge said. “Each of you has made a journey that was anything but simple. In a world where studying abroad demands determination and resilience, your very presence here is an act of courage: the courage to leave behind family and familiarity, to navigate the bureaucracies and barriers of international study, and to step into a new country where everything—from daily routines to academic expectations—may feel unfamiliar at first. That choice was not easy, and yet you made it. That choice is bold. And it signals your readiness to pursue an education that will open doors, create opportunities, and shape your future in ways that may reach farther than you can yet imagine.”
Fitchburg State is proud to meet that boldness with opportunity. The university was founded more than a century ago on the belief that higher education should not be reserved for a few, but open to all who are willing to pursue it.
“That mission of access and excellence remains our compass,” Hodge said. “It is why we welcome first-generation students, working adults, veterans, and now you. You are not guests on the margins of this community; you are part of the very core of who we are.”
Hodge, who posed for photos and chatted with the students in front of Thompson Hall after her remarks, told the students that they are not simply “international students.”
“You are more than the passport you carry or the culture you come from,” Hodge said. “Each of you is an individual with talents, ambitions, and identities that cannot be reduced to a single label. And when you leave Fitchburg State, you will take with you more than a degree. You will carry the relationships, the knowledge, and the resilience that come from fully belonging to this community.
“And while you are here, your presence strengthens this university. You do not just join it, you expand it. You bring perspectives that sharpen our classrooms, deepen our conversations, and broaden our sense of what is possible. And you follow in the footsteps of many who came before you—because you may not know it yet, but some of the staff and faculty who will support you on this campus once sat where you sit now, as international students themselves.”
Nelly Wadsworth, the Director of International Education, is hopeful that the students begin to get acclimated and comfortable with their surroundings after these information sessions.
“Just looking at the campus and being here on campus, I think they feel connected and knowing some of these other international students, it’s good,” she said. “If they know another person from their country, they feel better.”
Hodge ended with a powerful message to the new Fitchburg State students.
“Be bold, and belong,” she said. “You have already proven your boldness by choosing Fitchburg State. Now belong fully to this campus, to this city, to this Commonwealth, and to this country. Belong to the friendships you will form, the opportunities you will claim, and the momentum we are building together as a university.
“Welcome to Fitchburg State. We are proud to call you Falcons, and we are stronger because you are here.”
