Troy University will welcome new students on Sunday, Aug. 11 with the Odyssey Convocation inside Trojan Arena on the Troy Campus. The theme for this year’s event is “Welcome Home.”
The convocation will serve as the culminating event for Move-In Weekend, which begins on Saturday as students begin moving into on-campus residence halls. Saturday also marks Bid Day for sororities. The Odyssey Convocation will start with a reception in the rotunda of Trojan Arena beginning at 1:30 p.m. followed by the event at 2:45 p.m. Fall semester classes on the Troy Campus will begin Wednesday, August 14.
“The Odyssey Convocation is a significant event in the life of Troy University because it signals the beginning of a student’s TROY journey,” said Herb Reeves, Dean of Student Services. “It is symbolic that their journey will begin and end in Trojan Arena – with the convocation serving as the starting point and commencement celebrating the completion of their course of study.”
The event will include a keynote address by Troy University alumna Katie Saliba, who graduated in 2013 with a degree in marketing. During her time at TROY, she held several leadership positions within Phi Mu sorority, including president in 2012.
The recipient of a Chancellor’s Award scholarship, Saliba excelled academically and was a member of Mortar Board National College Senior Honor Society, Order of Omega Honor Society, and Delta Mu Delta Business Honor Society. She was a member of the Marketing Club and the Student Alumni Association. She also holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Auburn.
Saliba joined the ranks of Personnel Resources, a staffing, recruiting and management company in Dothan, in 2016 as a sales and marketing assistant. Today, she serves the company as a sales representative, meeting with companies to learn and tailor to their unique staffing and administrative needs. She serves as cohost of People-ing with Purpose, a weekly podcast focused on human resources and staffing needs.
Saliba is actively involved in the Wiregrass United Way, Dothan Area Young Professionals, Dothan Area Chamber of Commerce and her church, Covenant United Methodist Church. She and her husband, Ben, have two daughters, Sloan and Ellis, and a son, Marshall.
The new student convocation will also include an invocation by Jimmy Goodwin, welcome and introductions from Dr. Hal Fulmer, Dean of Undergraduate and First-Year Studies; greetings from Dr. Kerry Palmer, Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs; remarks from SGA President Betsy Bennett; and the traditional lighting of the Odyssey flame featuring academic deans and students from each of TROY’s five colleges. The Sound of the South Marching Band and Grace Wagstaff will perform The National Anthem and Tori Lee Averett will perform the University’s Alma Mater, accompanied by The Sound. TROY head football Gerad Parker will lead the group in the singing of the TROY Fight Song, accompanied by Averett and the band.
