As Bates prepares for the 2026-2027 academic year, students from the Class of 2030 began settling into their new homes on campus on Thursday, Aug. 27. 

They bring with them a range of experiences, skills, and stories to enrich campus life. They come from 450 high schools in 40 states, plus Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico, and 28 countries. The Class of 2030 includes 72 first-generation students and 32 Kessler Scholars. It is also the first class to include scholars from the QuestBridge program, which connects high-achieving students from low-income backgrounds with leading institutions of higher education. 

The Class of 2030 includes 552 students, making it the third largest entering class in Bates history. (The Class of 2005, which enrolled 582 students in 2001, holds the number one spot, and the Class of 2025, which welcomed 553 students in 2021, is the second largest entering class.) 

There are 178 new recruited athletes who will join Bates’ 31 varsity teams this year; many new students were engaged in high school athletics ranging from varsity sports to spikeball clubs, weightlifting clubs, and ultimate frisbee teams. The Class of 2030 includes a field hockey player from the Canadian Women’s National Team, two internationally recognized figure skaters, a member of the U.S. ski mountaineering team, a Nordic skier who helped Team New England win at nationals in Alaska, and the No. 1 slalom skier at the 2024 California and Nevada state championships. Additionally, Bates welcomes a purple belt in kung fu, a black belt in taekwondo, and a competitive white water canoe racer.

Students from the Class of 2030 are makers, with students who have built boats and jeeps, who make bread and paint murals, and who make their own clothes. Several students in the incoming class have deep experience with photography — many award-winning — with subjects ranging from protests to railroads. There are filmmakers, barbers, and graphic novelists in the first-year class. And there are musicians: a bongo player, several lead singers and lead guitarists, the winner of the Eastern Junior Scottish Fiddling Championship, and a lead violinist in an all women’s youth mariachi group. 

Compassion and commitment are trends for the incoming class. Several incoming first-year students have volunteered with incarcerated people, with one starting a prison book program. Many students organized school composting efforts, and one student designed a straw composting system that turned 152 tons of straw into five tons of fertilizer and represented $26,000 in annual savings. Several students arrive at Bates trained in teen Mental Health First Aid. Many new Batesies are deeply committed to repurposing clothing and materials into art and upcycled clothing, offering a promising Trashion Show this year. 

Read on for more fun facts about the newest members of the Bates community.

The Class of 2030 includes:

• An organizer of the 2025 International Tibetan Youth Forum
• A student advisor to the Alaska State Board of Education
• A co-creator of a play under Taliban regime, who amplified Afghan women’s stories on the international stage in four countries
• An intern at the Wankun Tea Society in Shenzhen, China 
• A fisherman, a lobsterman, and an oyster farmer
• A blueberry farmer
• A volunteer with the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to gather data on Canadian geese
• A language docent for the Mohegan Language Learning Project and a cultural docent for the Mohegan Tribal Government
• A student who hiked 13 mountains in Colorado with more than 14,000 feet in elevation 
• Two service dog trainers   
• A certified diver
• A founder of a chess club and a founder of a cheese club
• A founder of a foam sword fighting club
• A member of Elite Climbing Team

On Thursday, after President Garry Jenkins’ welcome to students, orientation kicked off — including weekend-long AESOP (Annual Entering Students Orientation Programs) trips ranging from Lewiston-centered explorations to outdoor adventures across Maine. Convocation marks the official beginning of the 2026-2027 year on Sept.1 at 11 a.m. with an address from Whitehouse Professor of Psychology Amy Douglass. Classes begin on Sept. 2. 

Welcome to the Bates Class of 2030!

Faculty Featured

Amy Bradfield Douglass

Whitehouse Professor of Psychology