San Diego State faculty, staff, students and alumni welcomed more than 3,000 new students and their families Saturday at the 2012 New Student and Family Convocation.

The convocation was an emotional event for students and family members, marking not only the beginning of the semester, but also the beginning of college experiences at SDSU.

Speakers welcomed the new students and their families, each offering guidance about how to make the best transition to life at SDSU.

Associated Students President

Rob O’Keefe offered advice to new students and reflected on his own college experience. O’Keefe told students about his freshman year, when he joined clubs and a fraternity to become involved on campus. O’Keefe also advised new students to remember that although college is an exciting time, it is also a learning experience with inevitable disappointments and obstacles. After admitting to a few specific setbacks, O’Keefe encouraged students to accept changes and find new opportunities like he did by running for A.S. president.

“I wanted to let students know that it’s OK to fail and, while everybody’s experience is different, that some things are just not going

to work out,” O’Keefe said after the convocation. “I went through a lottogethere,andalothadtogo wrong for it to go right in the end.”

Although the convocation was only one of many new student events, it is considered one bookend to a college career, with the other being graduation. A.S. Vice President of External Affairs Tom Rivera said the convocation is not just an event, but a custom.

“Students who attend convocation are part of one of SDSU’s greatest traditions,” Rivera said. “It really embodies what it means to be an Aztec and makes people feel much more connected to their new home.”