Congratulations to Our Graduates and Wishing All Students a Wonderful Summer

May 11, 2023

Dear Scarlet Knights,

Congratulations on reaching the end of the academic year! Whether you are ending the year with a degree in hand or with plans to continue your studies, I hope you will look back with fondness, joy, and pride for your achievements, campus experiences, and personal growth.

As we review the year, I’d like to express my awe at the level of engagement, involvement, and student leadership that we witnessed this year. Through events like the Homecoming Bed Races, Caribbean Day, Rutgers University Dance Marathon, and Hot Dog Day, students led, and we followed in support. I would also like to highlight the leadership of RUSA, which passed legislation this year to make menstrual products available through dispensers in all the student centers, as well as in the Student Activities Center. The second round of dispensers will be coming this summer for the recreation centers, making menstrual products more accessible to students.

As we look to the summer months, many of you will be pursuing careers, internship opportunities, or projects of interest. Regardless of what you will be doing, know that you can stay connected to Rutgers. You can stay in touch with class- or club-mates, take classes in one of our Summer Sessions or work at New Student Orientation, or even volunteer for August events like Move-In Day and Welcome Week. For those in the area, our resources, from CAPS to the Dean of Students to the Student Food Pantry, will remain open and available for those who need them.

I wish you a successful summer and look forward to seeing many of you again as the academic year begins in the fall! For those of you who are graduating in a few short days, I’m looking forward to celebrating you at commencement and staying connected with you as alumni. As soon to be graduates, I also remind you to fill out the post-graduation survey, which will guide our future career development and support efforts, allowing us to create additional job leads for continuing students and alumni, while providing important data to help us better serve you.

Again, congratulations to all on a wonderful year!

Sincerely,

Salvador B. Mena, Ph.D. (he, him, his)
Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs
Rutgers University–New Brunswick