From move-in to Convocation, the class of 2011 started their school year with several special events during the second annual Welcome Week celebration.

On Saturday, Aug. 25 more than half of the freshman class came together to participate in FreshServe, a day of cleaning, painting, planting and other services at several community-based organizations around the city.

“FreshServe was such a fabulous example of the heart of Temple students,” said Katie D’Angelo, assistant dean of students. “On the hottest day of the summer, new students ventured all over Philadelphia to serve in their community. Serving this community is the core of Temple's mission, which makes FreshServe a perfect beginning for our students.”

The Penrose Community Center and playground in north Philadelphia was one of 98 sites where students volunteered their time. Other sites included Zion Baptist Church and Fairmount Park, where more than 60 students gathered to help trim trees and clean debris from the park grounds.

Students wrapped up a weekend full of events with a special address from President Ann Weaver Hart during new student convocation.

In her address, Hart discussed her newly formed passport initiative, which offers a free passport to students planning to study abroad, the importance of international study and the university’s environmental sustainability initiatives.

“You have reason to be proud to be Temple students, because here you are taking the first steps in becoming global citizens,” Hart told the freshman class.

“Your lives will be shaped by the continued development of a global society in which technology has made physical distance inconsequential, the world’s economic systems are increasingly interdependent and cultures have become inexorable intertwined.

“At Temple you will be given the tools to excel in this new world, but it will be up to you to put them to use,” she continued.