Saint Mary’s hosted a spring activities fair in the Student Center on Sunday to recruit members for campus organizations as a counterpart to the fall activities fair during the first week of classes in August.
The event was coordinated by Janielle Tchakerian, assistant to the vice president for student affairs and the director of residence life, and Tena Johnson, student involvement specialist.
“I think this is a good idea for the spring because we have a lot of transfer students coming in and students coming back from abroad who want to get involved, and it gives them that opportunity to know what is available,” student body vice president Sam Moorhead said.
Johnson said 30 clubs and departments registered for the event and had table displays around the Student Center atrium and on the second floor.
“We decided to organize the fair mainly to give student clubs another opportunity to recruit people,” Johnson said. “It’s the best way to promote involvement in campus life.”
One of the newest organizations at the fair was the College's three new graduate programs, including a Doctorate of Nursing Practice, a Master of Science in Data Science and a Master of Science in Speech Pathology. Aiming to reach undergraduates who may want to attain advanced degrees, Melissa Fruscione, associate director of admission for graduate programs, staffed the table and said she was glad to have the programs on display.
“I thought the fair would be a great opportunity to introduce undergraduate students to our graduate programs," Fruscione said. "We’re not official yet in having student organizations related to the graduate programs, ... but we thought it was just a good opportunity for students to be introduced to the programs and let them know what they are all about in case they want to continue their education at Saint Mary’s.”
Fruscione said once the graduate programs form student organizations, she believes the small size of the programs will allow undergraduate students and graduate students to collaborate and learn from one another.
Senior nursing student Grace McSorley said the fair was a great success.
“Since it’s my last semester as a senior, I thought it was a nice way to see all of the different things I could get involved in at the last minute,” she said. “I also was looking around to see if anything would appeal to my younger sister, who is a freshman looking to join some clubs.”
McSorley said she wishes more students would take the opportunity to join clubs mid-year.
“I was surprised to see such a range of clubs, too, and even a new one called Christ Lights, which is for students to talk about their faiths and modern-day topics regarding religion,” she said. “I signed up, and I am excited for everything the club offers.”
