Springfest provides a peek at GCSU for prospective students
By 9 a.m., the Front Campus lawn was filled with a mixture of high school seniors and their parents from every jagged edge of Georgia, some even from beyond the state’s borders. A GCSU team of Student Ambassadors and staff were on hand and dedicated to making Springfest enjoyable.
Kathy Edmonson, coordinator of Orientation and New Student Programs, felt Springfest was not only an informative event, but also a commemoration of the incoming students’ success.
“The event is designed to celebrate prospective freshmen students’ admittance to Georgia College and to confirm their decision to attend,” said Edmonson.
Springfest also allowed other students to decide on GCSU over other schools.
Student Ambassador Nic Marrone understands the challenges of representing the university when so many students have committed to GCSU.
“Everyone is kind of nervous because it is such a sensitive day,” Marrone said. “All the kids that come have been accepted by the school but may not have necessarily made a decision on whether to come here or not.”
After checking in, potential students received a bag of freebies that they could dissect while eating from the continental breakfast. Items in the bag included a free pen and note pad, some credit card and magazine offers and, most importantly, the itinerary for Springfest.
To start the welcome program, the GCSU Jazz Band entertained – and probably woke up a few Springfest attendees. In her last performance at GCSU, senior Laura Dees sang Peggy Lee’s “Fever” and “That’s My Style” while accompanied by the band. Also, in her last show, drummer Monique Williams showed off her drumming abilities in “Sing, Sing, Sing.”
GCSU’s president, Dorothy Leland, was next to hit the stage after the jazz band’s performance.”I don’t know about following Jazz Band,” Leland said. “I’m not nearly as exciting.”
Despite her claim, Leland had the auditorium’s devoted attention as she cited the numerous reasons students should consider GCSU their school of choice. Leland’s speech focused on the small class sizes and the friendly, safe campus atmosphere.
Director of Admissions, Mike Augustine, broke down the applying freshman class numerically. So far there have been 3,610 applications, 1,798 of which have been accepted.
Kathleen is one of those high school seniors who will soon call GCSU her home.
“I’ve already been accepted,” Kathleen Dunphy. “I’ve already paid and POUNCEd.”
Another speaker, junior Bren Thomas gave the upcoming freshmen three pieces of advice: wear comfortable shoes, call your parents for reasons other than money and don’t change everything about yourself, stay true to who you are.
In 27 different sessions, parents and prospective students were given information and class requirements for their selected majors.
During the session, faculty members and current students presented their views and opinions on the different majors and their benefits. Incoming freshmen also had opportunities to ask questions about their majors.
After the session, there was a list of places open for exploration by the possible freshmen, such as the Bobcat Marketplace, where potential students perused the wide variety of registered student organizations they could become active in.
This year, there were 60 tables filled with 70 different organizations that stretched down the main walkway on Front Campus. Some tables caught students’ interest with music and others with candy and sweets.
Apple Campus Representative Brett Compton also felt his table generated a lot of interest.
“I think I probably had 20 one-on-one conversations with different people and their parents,” Compton said. “That’s a big impact.”
With so many RSOs on display, it’s not hard for incoming students to get lost in the sea of fliers and tablecloths.
“It’s a little overwhelming, but I do feel like I’m getting informed,” Kathleen Dunphy said.
While some freshmen and their parents browsed the Bobcat Marketplace, others took advantage of the opportunity to explore different places through campus mini-tours. Two rooms in Adams Hall were open for viewing during Springfest as well.
Many ended their day under the same white tent they had started the day with. Visiting students filled out a survey on Springest in order to receive one final keepsake from their day- a GCSU t-shirt.
“I bet there’s a lot of GCSU logos walking around the state right now,” Edmonson said.
Posted by Colonnade Archives
on Mar 13 2009. Filed under News.
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