In his address, Kim cited the close working relationship between college administrators, faculty and the student leaders at Dartmouth as an important ingredient for his success in his first year in office.
"The student-faculty partnership is essential to our collective mission," Kim said.
Kim highlighted the closeness of the Dartmouth community, which he said he believes is unmatched on any other campus, and the unique student-faculty partnership at the College. He also encouraged students to become leaders in the global community.
"Once you leave us, you will go out into the world and make its troubles your own and make those troubles melt away with your brilliance, your resolve, your compassion and your tenacity," he said.
Kim asked students to explore classes in a variety of disciplines, particularly in the humanities, in preparation for their future roles as global problem solvers.
"I'm still a widely enthusiastic believer in the power that science, technology, engineering and math has to help us solve problems, but it was in graduate school that I realized changing the world required the ability as one of your professors put it to me just the other day to see the world as it is, imagine the world you want to create and render that vision in a way that convinces others that it is attainable,'" he said.
In the keynote address, Daughtry, who majored in government and African and African American studies, highlighted the differences between "studying government and politics in the classroom and working in a campaign.
"The circle of learning is completed when the two meet, when theory is put into practice," Daughtry said. "We must learn to match our intellectual pursuits with hands-on practical activity."
Daughtry also recalled the class bond she felt at her own Convocation.
"I left convocation that day knowing without a shadow of a doubt that Dartmouth belonged to me, and that I belonged to Dartmouth College and that this was my place," Daughtry said. "That sense of camaraderie and belonging was an essential part of my education."
Daughtry has served as the pastor of the House of the Lord Church in Washington, D.C. and has held several leadership positions for the Democratic Party, including chief of staff for the Democratic National Committee and CEO of the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver.
The merging of individual perspectives was an integral part of Daughtry's learning process at Dartmouth, she said.
"We don't have to all be alike or look alike or think alike in order for us to learn together and grow together," Daughtry said. "We can come from different places and have different perspectives and different ideas, and that you can even disagree, but still remain a valuable, contributing part of the same community."
Tanner framed his speech around the importance of "connecting the dots" in life a concept from Steve Jobs' 2005 commencement address at Stanford University, he said and encouraged incoming students to reflect on the path that led them to the College and to unite as a class.
"I hope that over the next four years you, as a class, will work to connect more dots around this campus that make our community feel more connected and welcoming than ever," he said, adding that compassion between classmates is the key to connecting the dots.
Tanner emphasized that the friendships students form at Dartmouth are what creates a more cohesive campus community.
The friendships and relationships that Tanner forged with his fellow students in the past three years has been the most meaningful aspect of his time at Dartmouth, he said.
Students interviewed said Kim's speech inspired to feel responsible for the world, and also said they appreciated Tanner's anecdotes.
"His [speech] was really personal about what he went through at college and how he felt and everything," Janae Dunchack '14 said. "It really touched on what other people were feeling."
Some students said they found the speech encouraging.
"It was really inspiring that a kid who was in our position could give such a rousing speech," Michael Levine '14 said.
