A New Beginning

Sunshine and clear skies greeted the attendees of NEIU's second annual Class Act event. Event planners welcomed new students to the university for a day of fun and excitement, the NEIU way.

"The Class Act event started last year when the need for a formal welcome for freshman students was realized," said Ian Stroud, Coordinator for Clubs, Advising and Programming Services.

A stage was erected to allow Provost Lawrence Frank, Dean Michael Kelly and SGA Vice President Erik Robles to formally welcome students to the university. This year's theme for class act was "New Decade and New Possibilities," which is used to encourage incoming freshmen to prepare for a future which leads in a positive direction.

While giving the welcome speech, Frank said to students, "You will be a different person when you graduate." The idea for students to walk through the arc way was brought about when the planners decided to relate the students experience to crossing under the pillars of higher education.

Freshman students walked through the arc way with a sense of pride for attending a university which is committed to helping students attain success in life through academics.

Dean Kelly and Director Sharron Evans confirmed the goals of the Class Act event which was, "To establish a new tradition for the university that would help the new students to create a bond with the NEIU community." They agree that this could also help to showcase the various opportunities to be had on campus.

Incoming students had the opportunity to communicate with various departaments and organizations, whose information tables were set up throughout the quad, such as Financial Aid, Honors Program, Ask Me Campaign, Seeds Literary Arts Journal and the FYE Program, to name a few.

According to Erik Robles, "Students don't have to look for resources because events like this show them resources." He, and Ian Stroud, urged more student clubs and organizations to participate in future Class Act events for information and networking.

The rest of the day was filled with fun and excitement as there were food, games and raffles organized for the students and their families.