A&M-Commerce holds annual Mane Event

Student volunteers, educational staff, and department representatives gathered at the SRSC last Saturday to welcome prospective students from high schools all over the state and their parents to Mane Event.

From 8:30 to 9:30, guests were greeted by student ambassadors and university staff at the Sam Rayburn Student Center. After registering on the first floor, the guests were invited to continental breakfast in the second floor conference rooms for a formal welcoming by the staff. The breakfast was followed by a series of general information sessions, covering topics such as residence living and learning and financial aid.

Due to the low temperature outdoors, several of the events were scheduled inside of the Sam Rayburn Student Center. The staff has remarked that attendance throughout the day was notably large despite the day's cold weather.

"Since it's so cold outside, we've had to bring everything inside," volunteer student ambassador Latrice Owens said. "Other than that, Mane Event has been great and we've had a really good turnout."

After the welcome, several smaller academic information sessions were held throughout the course of the day. These sessions were held to inform the prospects and their parents of the requirements and opportunities of different educational departments and help them to decide from a list of possible majors.

"I really like how small the classes are so you get a more hands on experience," prospective student Bianca Gomez said. "I've really gotten a feel of what it's like to be an incoming freshman."

Gomez's positive feelings have been echoed by several others, including visiting high school senior Lauren Meyer, who has expressed interest in A&M-Commerce's biology program.

"The campus is nice and everybody has been really friendly," she said.

In addition to the academic information sessions held between 10:00 – 11:40 a.m., the student ambassadors were also conducting tours of the campus that ran regularly from 9:30 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

"We basically take different groups to the buildings all over the campus and we explain which majors are in there, what classes are in there, what programs are in each individual place," Student Ambassador Michael Martinez said. "That way, if they want to attend our university or attend certain programs, they will already know where to go."

After the information seminars, the Information Fair began on the second floor of Sam Rayburn Student Center, with special musical guest "Dr. Doctor" performing in "The Club". The Information Fair allowed numerous department representatives and extracurricular communities to showcase what their fields of study entail in an effort to persuade the visitors to pursue a major or interest on campus.

"We're advertising everything that we have to offer," Associate Director of Facilities at the Morris Recreation Center Tyson Kehler said. "Once these kids become freshman, they've already paid their fees so everything is free at the Rec Center, including the group fitness classes, the outdoor area and the hot tub."

Educational departments have had a fair amount of success as well.

"Our turnout has been pretty good," Literature and Language representative Inma Lyons said. "We have come across several students that seek to pursue a degree in Spanish and several others looking to pursue a degree in English."

As the Information Fair came to an end, the event neared its conclusion with scholarship drawings at 1:30 p.m.