Sophomores Celebrated

Academic milestone marked with new traditional eventVictoria YuTHE SANTA CLARAFebruary 6, 2014[dropcap] S[/dropcap]anta Clara focuses a great deal on welcoming and assisting freshmen while providing resources geared toward juniors and seniors, but sophomores may feel somewhat neglected.For the first time in campus history, “Halfway To Graduation” will celebrate the class of 2016, an event made possible by student leaders who wish to give back to their sophomore class in a unique way.The student leaders hope to create a shared experience, instill class pride and enable classmates to connect with one another during this exciting time as students.Since fall 2013, the student leaders have met weekly, working hard to collaborate and plan a truly memorable event for the sophomore class.Two guest speakers — Elspeth Rossetti, director of the Career Center, and Pancho Jiménez, senior lecturer from the Art and Art History Department — will share stories about their own experiences and answer student-submitted questions.They will also speak on how to stay inspired and motivated.Lead organizer of the event Heather Dumas-Dyer said that afterward “the room will transform into an amazing collection of activities.”Sophomores can look forward to enjoying live music from local pop-rock band Exit 11, taking photo booth pictures, making a “bucky” or bucket list, writing on an inspiration wall and throwing paint on a canvas to create a collective piece of art from the sophomore class.The sophomore class motto will also be announced, and many free items such as class t-shirts, water bottles, stickers, drinks, food catered by Bon Appétit and ice cream sponsored by Mission City Creamery will be available.The event will also hold a competition in which the Residential Learning Community with the largest number of attendees at the event will win a trip to Sky High, free transportation included.In Dumas-Dyer’s words, the celebration is ultimately “about honoring this moment in time when (sophomores are) almost halfway to graduation, because (college) is really about the experience.”All sophomores are invited to attend “Halfway to Graduation” tonight in the Locatelli Activity Center at 7 p.m. Contact Victoria Yu at vyu@scu.edu or call (408) 554-4852.