NDSU President Dean L. Bresciani and student body president Spencer Moir will greet incoming students during the Presidents’ Welcome, scheduled for Monday, Aug. 22, at 1 p.m. Bresciani and Moir will lead the students through the university gates and then address them from the steps of Putnam Hall.

Provost Beth Ingram also will deliver a brief, academically-focused message to the incoming class of 2020. All NDSU faculty and staff are invited to attend, as well.

"The Presidents’ Welcome is our chance to invite our new students into the NDSU community of scholars," Ingram said. "It is especially fitting that this welcome occurs on the steps of Putnam Hall, our first library, and near Old Main, where NDSU’s first students – 123 total – took their first classes."

Bresciani will introduce incoming freshman Zoe Leuthner who will represent her classmates. The biochemistry and molecular biology major is the daughter of Jim Leuthner and Ellen Merlin.

Leuthner is an exceptional student – the valedictorian of her high school class in St. Louis Park, Minnesota. She’s also a Presidential Scholarship recipient and she scored a perfect 36 on her ACT test.

“NDSU has everything I was looking for; it made sense on a lot of levels. It has a great combination of size, programs and opportunities. NDSU seems like a great environment that’s fun and enriching,” Leuthner said, describing NDSU as a leader in research.

“Genetics and neuroscience interest me, and professors at NDSU are conducting research in gene expression and cancer. I think that is fascinating,” she said.

The Gold Star Marching Band also is scheduled to participate in the President's Welcome. Additionally, the BisonArts Singers will sing "The Yellow and Green” at the conclusion of the event. Students will then be dismissed to attend academic college-sponsored events.

Fall classes begin Aug. 22 at 4 p.m.

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