The class of 2009 joins Lawrence this year with 411 members. It is one of the largest incoming freshman classes of recent years. The school has been making preparations since last year to accommodate for this unusually large class. Concerns included sufficient housing and food. The appropriate adjustments in the residence halls and dining halls required extra attention.
As with other Lawrence classes, the new freshmen hail from across the country and the world. Widespread and diverse, the freshmen represent 34 states and 14 countries and almost none have fellow classmates from their high schools with them. There are also 24 new transfer students and 14 visiting international students.
The new additions to campus do not steer far from the Lawrence tradition and show promising potential to integrate well with the rest of the student body. More than 90% of students interviewed were self-proclaimed “nerds.” There is also a strong interest in music with about 25% planning on pursuing a degree in the conservatory. Other popular areas of interest include English, biology, and foreign languages.
An incoming freshmen class at Lawrence would not be suitable without the quirky and impressive achievements that shape the campus’s character. Among the new students are the winner of a national tap dancing competition, a history novelist published at the age of 14, and an entrepreneur who had made $12,000 by the time he was 15. You may even meet the girl who made her homecoming dress entirely of duct tape, including shoes, or the student who participated in a shaman healing ritual in Ecuador.
Facts and figures of the Class of 2009
