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After a year of canceled events, Georgia Gwinnett College (GGC) welcomed students back in a big way. As part of the college’s Return to Community celebration, GGC brought back its annual Green Scene and March Through the Arch traditions, which drew crowds of happy students to the campus lawn on August 11.

The Green Scene event offers students information about student clubs, campus resources and wellness tips. Included during the event was the student-favorite International Hot Dog Festival which offered up hot dogs, bratwurst and Italian sausages with toppings from around the world.

The annual March Through the Arch event welcomes new students to the GGC community and allows students to interact with their professors and peers outside the classroom setting. With faculty and staff applause roaring in the background, freshman and new transfer students walk through the Arch of Knowledge, located at the Daniel J. Kaufmann Library & Learning Center.

This year’s March Through the Arch was a special event for Amabel Rodriguez. The 23-year old junior psychology major from Dacula was unable to participate last year when the global pandemic forced GGC to cancel the event. She was thankful that this year, the school invited upperclassmen to participate.

“I found it very inspiring for me and for other students,” she explained. “It motivates you. I think it was very nice.”

Rodriguez’s friend, freshman Chandler Kane, went through a lot to get to this day. The 22-year old from Suwanee attended college after he graduated from Peachtree Ridge High School, but experienced hardship and had to drop out. Three years later, Kane is back and ready to pursue his dream of attaining a college degree. This time, Kane says he has hope.

“It was reassuring to be here and to be a part of things that I wasn’t able to be a part of then,” he said.

Kane said the tradition was a good first step in his college journey and was something that motivated him to keep going.

“I loved it,” he said after he marched with his friends through the Arch of Knowledge. “It was nice being welcomed by everybody and it just set the atmosphere of a very welcome community. It’s a place where I know I can be successful.”