Thousands of newly minted students filled the Greek Theatre Monday for UC Berkeley’s 2015 convocation, a chance to meet campus leaders, future friends and colleagues and to gear up for what Chancellor Nicholas Dirks called “an intellectual adventure unlike anything you have known before.” The dean of students, Joseph Greenwell, opened the proceedings, welcoming the students to their first official day at UC Berkeley. “What are we?” he asked, answering: “The best public school in the world!” Greenwell noted the importance of embracing challenges, self-empowerment and working together as a community. “Never pass a fellow community member in distress,” he said. “Always stop to ask how you can help.” Pushing boundaries and taking chances was a strong theme of the day. Francine Masiello, a Spanish professor, doled out advice she says she wished she had gotten as a freshman, encouraging students to get involved in the more than 1,000 organizations, explore the city and surroundings, find a study group and take advantage of the five free counseling sessions at the Tang Center when times get tough. ...