Welcome to CWRU: Meet the Class of 2019

This afternoon, the undergraduate Class of 2019 officially will join the Case Western Reserve University community, as 1,250 new students attend a welcome address as part of orientation activities. The students represent the most competitive class admitted to the university: only 36 percent of applicants were admitted. And, taking a look at their accomplishments, it becomes evident why they’re among the nation’s best. Members of the Class of 2019 have:

• raised more than $20,000 for a cancer center by making purses out of jeans to sell them at craft shows;
• played in a Grammy Award-winning band;
• placed in the top 10 at the U.S. National Video Game Championship Series;
• designed a solar-powered car;
• created four apps available through Google Play; and
• earned patents in China for two devices he developed: a card-swipe machine that ensures children are not left on school buses by mistake, and one programmed with a class schedule that detects whether all necessary books are in the backpack.

The Class of 2019 even includes the great-granddaughter of Antanas Smetona, the first Lithuanian president. The 1,250 students who enrolled attended 867 high schools. They hail from 21 countries and 40 states, plus Washington, D.C. International students total 15 percent of the entering class, and Ohioans are 22 percent. President Barbara R. Snyder officially welcomes the class at a 4 p.m. ceremony in the Veale Convocation, Recreation and Athletic Center. Also speaking to the students will be Chippy Kennedy, president of the Undergraduate Student Government; Edwin Mayes, director of first-year experience; and Katie Lavelle, the Ellen and Dixon Long Professor in World Affairs. “My colleagues and I are extremely excited about the first-year class of 2019 and our new transfer students,” Robert R. McCullough, director of undergraduate admissions, said. “They are very accomplished, bright and enthusiastic, and bring a diversity of perspectives from across the country and around the world.”