Christa Acampora, dean of the College and Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and professor of philosophy, delivered the First Lecture to students on the Lawn Monday morning.
The approximately 30-minute event was part of the 2026 Wahoo Welcome schedule, and while the lecture was required for College students in the Class of 2030, all University community members were welcome to attend the event.
In a statement to The Cavalier Daily, University Spokesperson Bethanie Glover said that the First Lecture has traditionally been delivered by the dean of the College at the beginning of each academic year. Glover said that the series was put on hold during the pandemic, and it was brought back by Acampora — who began in the dean role in 2022 — in 2023.
Acampora shared the importance of human skills and capabilities in a world where artificial intelligence’s use has grown. Over the past few years, many employers are using AI to fill traditional entry-level jobs, but Acampora said that a University education will teach students about themselves and aid them in developing human skills like leadership, creativity and judgment to meet employer needs. According to Acampora, judgment, discernment and ethical imagination are all capabilities humans possess and are derived from our ability to think, feel and imagine.
To open the lecture, Acampora shared how a story can showcase what it means to be human. As an example, she said “The Odyssey” has been retold for thousands of years — not because the characters are role models, but because the characters display a range of human experiences.
“People keep telling Homer's stories because they give us vivid, memorable depictions of the range of human experience and possibility,” Acampora said. “What it means to be brave and reckless. What it means to ache with love, to grieve, to be lost and alone, to find your way home.”
Acampora shifted to discuss how human experience and skill will be more important as AI use grows in the workspace. She cited predictions by McKinsey & Company and PwC — firms that provide consulting and accounting services, respectively — which stress the importance of human skills.
First-year College student Samantha Ankers attended the lecture, and she said that she was glad to hear that the University is focused on developing students’ growth and learning capabilities, and not just preparing students for the workplace in light of AI.
“My parents keep seeing things about how AI is taking over a majority of jobs,” Ankers said. “Listening to [Acampora] today made me realize that there is always going to be a market for human interaction, and that humans offer valuable skills.”
Acampora also spoke on a Forbes article highlighting a LinkedIn course about investing in human skills. She rhetorically asked the crowd why education is important if you can learn human skills in a short course. In response, Acampora said that the University helps develop students’ capabilities, which are different from skills — while some skills can be replicated by AI, capabilities cannot. She said a liberal arts education is a process to build people “capable of self authorship” and communities “capable of self-governance” — the tools needed to form human capabilities.
“Your time here on Grounds is for the formation of your distinctively human capabilities,” Acampora said. “If you think of education as formation, ... it means we're more interested in your concrete growth than in producing outputs. It means we care about the process more than the credential.”
To build these human capabilities, Acampora encouraged students to not solely pursue humanities classes or coursework in leadership, but also take advantage of the Engagements courses — a yearlong sequence of seminar-style courses during a student’s first year. She said the Engagements curriculum was “designed for formation, not just the production of outputs.”
Ava Wilkins, second-year College and transfer student in attendance at the lecture, said she resonated with Acampora’s message of the importance of human skills in the workforce.
“[Acampora] placing an emphasis on developing human skills was an important reminder for everybody, because it can be so easy to get lost and caught up in LinkedIn and getting certifications, when what's really important is the connections you make while you're here,” Wilkins said.
Acampora closed the event by sharing the importance of writing down ideas, insights and observations that resonate with oneself — an activity she called commonplacing — to document growth. All first-year College students receive a commonplace book, and she instructed students to use this book like a “hive.” Following this metaphor, she said students should “gather nectar” and “return to it [to] make honey.” Acampora said that students should document experiences and questions that make them think.
“Capture the moments when you discover a new capability developing,” Acampora said. “At the end of the term, you'll open it and see in your own hand the difference between what you were in August and what you are becoming.”
Edward Christopher is a staff writer on the News desk as well as an advertising representative of The Cavalier Daily. He is a second-year student in the McIntire School of Commerce and is from Northern Virginia. Edward enjoys covering state politics and University developments.
Read More
City Council hears report on renewed sustainable waste disposal framework
By Luca Bailey | 37 minutes agoResidents also appeared during public comment, petitioning Council members to reconsider plans to clear a homeless encampment along the Rivanna Trail, and to consider restoring a plaque commemorating 19th century slave auctions which took place at a historic building downtown.
What is the University’s role in the Commonwealth AI Institute?
By Melody Yuan | 23 hours agoThe Commonwealth Artificial Intelligence Institute is a partnership between several higher education institutions, industries and government agencies of the Commonwealth to coordinate AI resources.
After Supreme Court upholds birthright citizenship, students express relief and disappointment
By Jaylynn Perez and Luca Bailey | 2 days agoStudents at the University are expressing a range of emotions, with two who spoke to The Cavalier Daily signaling relief at the Court’s decision, and one expressing opposition.
