Around 300 students attended the annual Undergraduate Student Success Fair on Sept. 18, about the same number as last year.
Representatives from 15 NSU offices — including the Help Desk, Henderson Student Counseling, Student Disability Services and the Undergraduate Academic Advising Center — set up tables in the Carl DeSantis Building to discuss their services with students.
Sheila Fabius, director of the Office of Undergraduate Student Success, which hosted the fair, said students were eager to learn and meet staff from the other offices.
“They had a good time,” Fabius said. “They didn’t expect to have a good time and they did. They enjoyed the interactive atmosphere, and they enjoyed meeting the different office representatives.”
Jaime Segno, Alvin Sherman Library reference and outreach librarian, discussed the Library Student Advisory Board and research services with students at the fair. She said that she and her co-workers tried to be informative and entertaining. They had students play “Guess the Book Cover”, where they showed students pieces of famous book covers from popular young adult novels, best sellers and classics, and asked them to guess which book it was. They also gave students flash drives with the library’s contact information.
Segno said the students were excited about the game and the fair.
“I think they got to familiarize themselves with different offices and services available to them,” Segno said. “They saw how friendly and willing to help we are and how we’re an NSU family.”
Staff from the Help Desk, which assists all NSU community members with technology needs, participated in the fair for the third time. Joe Garcia, director of the Help Desk Call Center, said the staff at the fair had students play a trivia game, testing their knowledge about the Help Desk. They also gave students a combined letter opener, keyboard brush and screen cleaner, which had the Help Desk’s contact information on it.
Bethany Baber, freshman speech-language and communication disorders major, said she found the Help Desk’s table to be helpful.
“[The Help Desk staff] helped me set up my email on my phone, so that was extremely helpful because I was struggling with that,” Baber said.
Garcia said the Help Desk staff felt their involvement at the fair was a demonstration of their commitment to focus on students. He thought the fair was well organized and advertised.
“It was a great event and a great way to introduce our undergraduate population to the university,” Garcia said.
Mark Reid, clinical service coordinator at the Division of Clinical Operations, spoke to students about their options for student health insurance and NSU’s health clinics. It was the division’s first time participating at the fair, and Reid said they will table at the next fair.
“The students were very happy and everyone was laughing and joking and stayed at some of the booths for a while,” Reid said.
He said he suggested that students who missed this year’s fair attend next year.
“I definitely recommend they go,” Reid said. “There’s a lot of services they need to obtain to go through their undergraduate years successfully.”
Gindra Nedrano, freshman chemistry major, and Teodora Suciu, freshman computer science major, both enjoyed learning more about the services that they had heard little about.
“We learned so much at orientation that it was overwhelming,” Suciu said. “And seeing the offices again, like the counseling center and the library and the Help Desk, was really nice. The more you see [the information], the more you use it.”
Jean-Michaeo Tor, freshman biology major, said he found the Office of Career Development’s table helpful and informative, as he is planning on changing his major.
“They talked to me about what they do and how they have these exams to see what you’re interested in,” Tor said. “I think that will be a great opportunity to go and see [what major] I’ll fit best.”
Tor said he plans on going to the fair again next year.
“I like to learn new things every year, so if they have anything new or anything else that I have any questions about, I’ll definitely go,” Tor said.
Jake Shilts, assistant director of the Office of Undergraduate Student Success, said the office wants to invite more student services and resources for next year’s fair.
“Our focus is the quality of the fair and the quality of the engagement between office that provide services and the students,” Shilts said.
