On Friday, Jan. 30, the KSC Office of Student Involvement hosted its annual Winter Celebration event.
From 11 a.m to 2 p.m., tables were set up in the L.P. Young Student Center, snacks and drinks were offered and students were able to walk in and stop by tables that offered handouts, flyers, stickers and more.
Director of Student Involvement Jessica Gagne Cloutier shared that the Winter Celebration has been going on “close to the 20th year it has occurred at Keene State.”
“Today’s a tricky day … with the weather and all, but we will be happy with anyone who comes through the doors,” Gagne Cloutier said.
She discussed how her expectations for attendance were different than normal, but in the vicinity of 100 people or so tabling and a few hundred people coming through.
Gagne Cloutier discussed how she and her team asked each table to offer something engaging. “If I were to bet, I’d say that half the tables in the Student Center have something to give away and half have something engaging going on, but the goal is that everyone should be prepared to engage with folks who stop by their tables,” she said.
Gagne Cloutier explained that the event was being promoted to reach diverse student populations. “We did posters across campus and in the residence halls, multiple social media posts, we emailed all our faculty and staff, all of our clubs and organizations that have also helped out with social media posts, we tried to use all the different channels.”
Senior and tutor at the Center for Research and Writing, Lauren Dombrowski, was able to share what was happening at the center’s table. There was a gnome tree set up with a gnome inside, and participants were able to ask it anything by putting in questions through the gnome tree. “Despite the gnome, the other things we were offering at this table was our Instagram account, semester hours and study nights at Keene State College,” Dombrowski said.
Another table that caught the attention of some people and students who signed up was the Chess Club, run by senior and President Isabella Nagle. There was a chessboard and a sign up sheet present. “With 15 participants in the club, we were happy to have four sign-ups today. It’s great to always see people who are interested in chess,” Nagle said.
Speaking with senior Keira Grupe and junior Katie Kilcup, they were able to share which tables they visited and which ones caught their attention.
“We visited the Make-A-Wish table, the chess table, writing center and now we are currently having lunch. We just walked around and chit-chatted with some people about what was going on at the tables,” said Grupe. Kilcup continued Grupe’s sentence and said, “It would be cool to join chess if I had the time, but we both really were amazed at the all-knowing gnome.”
First-year Lucy Dickenson said she visited the Outing Club table and the Global Cultural Club. She said, “It was exciting to go in with an open mind to these tables to see where I can potentially be involved with a club or organization.”
Tamy Jacques can be contacted at
tjacques@kscequinox.com
