Welcome to Madison! As you begin your time at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, I am pleased to welcome you to the city. The start of my freshman year at the UW was the start of an incredible journey, one that led me to love this university and this city. After that first year, I never left Madison, and I hope you’ll come to enjoy this city as much as I do.

As you start your college career here in Madison, I’d like to encourage you to take advantage of all the campus and city have to offer.

This university provides a diversity of great things to do on campus. You have seemingly endless fields of study to pursue with the help of award-winning faculty. You can attend a Big Ten athletic event or get involved with some of the clubs, intramurals or student activist groups.

But I also want to encourage you to look beyond campus. Great things in Madison lie beyond State Street. Explore the Capitol area and you’ll find the Monona Terrace. Take a look around the east side and you’ll find Willy Street. Beyond Camp Randall you can enjoy the Monroe Street neighborhood, shops and restaurants.

Around every corner are more neighborhoods, sites and attractions. Sample area cuisine at Taste of Madison, see a show at the Overture Center, explore the Vilas Zoo or try some local food at the farmers’ market on the Capitol Square. Or you could try out some of my favorite bike trails through the arboretum or around Lake Monona.

The city of Madison certainly has much to offer students, but we also have much to gain from you. Students are an integral part of our downtown community, and I hope you’ll continue that tradition. It’s that convergence of the student community and the city that gives Madison much of its unique feel.

Again, welcome to Madison. It’s a place I hope you’ll be proud to call home.

Dave Cieslewicz is the mayor of Madison.