2017 was another amazing year to be called a Hawkeye. It’s was a year of new traditions that have become just as close to our hearts as the old ones. It’s was a year of new beginnings after the floods of ’07 tested Iowa’s strength. A year where we welcomed a number of new Hawks, but continue to be a close knit family. Personally, it was another year of personal growth and development, a year where I found a passion for something and finally got to pursue it. It was another year of unforgettable memories with the people I don’t consider friends, but instead consider family. Because that’s what this place is, a home. A home where we find family. Where we all come together for the strongest kiddos to create a tradition for something so much bigger than us. A place where we absolutely dominate Ohio State in a way that only Hawkeyes can do (and turn around two weeks later and lose to Purdue the only way Hawkeyes can do). A place where we learn that hard work and determination can get you pretty far in life. And where we learn that the people around us will be the ones we lean on when it doesn’t quite work out. This place is a community that stretches far beyond the 30,000 current university students or the boundaries of Iowa City. It goes to New York, California, Texas and far beyond. It’s the place we are proud to call ours. It’s a place in the middle of the country that has become our whole world. This place is Iowa, its people are the Hawkeyes and we are family.

So as the first few weeks of the semester come to a close. Here’s to 2018

Go Hawks!