The Freshman Celebration, 2008: archived page

About the Freshman Celebration

(Note: This webpage is the archive for the 2008 Freshman Celebration. Visit the current year's Celebration website for information on this year's projects.)

Freshmen taking University 100 and/or other Freshman Connection classes are invited to participate each fall in this celebration of first-semester academic achievement. Ask your UNIV 100 or other Freshman Connection class instructor for details about how you can participate, and which class projects might be appropriate for display at this public event. Read on for photos and other information from past years and an overview of the Freshman Connection. For more information, email Cheryl Spector

Winning Exhibits from 2008 (see photos)

• Grand prize: "Where We Are From" suitcase project (pictured at left)--by students in Prof. Ellen Stohl's UNIV 100 class. (Photo by Helen Dosick.)
• "The Scholarly Journal: Reading, Writing, and Research: A Freshman Publication" and "Freshman Family Connection: Poster and Photo Album"--by students in Prof. Tina Bertacchi Love's UNIV 100 class.
• "Tribes" poster (inspired by Sherman Alexie's Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian)--by students in Prof. Sharron Kollmeyer Gerfen's ENGL 097 class.
• "Portraying Poverty" photo and essay exhibit--by students in Prof. Nyla Jolly Dalferes's UNIV 100 class. (Photo by Helen Dosick.)
• "The Looking-Glass Self" mask project--by students in Prof. Helen Dosick's SOC 150 classes.

The 2008 Food Drive

• Though the 2008 UNIV 100 Nickel and Dimed Food Drive is over, MEND would certainly still be glad to accept your help. Visit the MEND website for more information.

2008 Photos

Photo credits: "Scholarly Journal and Freshman Family Connection" and "Tribes" poster by Cheryl Spector. "Portraying Poverty" chain link fence display by Helen Dosick.

More about the 2008 Freshman Celebration

• This annual event is a celebration of freshman learning modeled on CSUN's Undergraduate and Graduate Student Research and Creative Works Symposium. This year's Freshman Celebration featured video interviews and whole-class and individual student projects, including "Portraying Poverty: A Gallery of Student Photos" as well as posters, photos, masks, videos, PowerPoints, essays, and other exhibits of scholarly and creative work by CSUN freshmen enrolled in Fall 2008 UNIV 100 and Freshman Connection classes.
• Also included this year was a food and clothing drive: Students in Prof. Carolyn Darin's Fall 2008 University 100 class were inspired by reading Nickel and Dimed (CSUN's 2008-2009 Freshman Common Reading book) to do something to help fight poverty and hunger. With help from CSUN's Center for Community Engagement, donations of canned food, clothing, and children's craft supplies were accepted at the Grand Salon for the benefit of MEND (Meet Each Need with Dignity), a volunteer organization that "meets the basic human needs of individuals who live in the northeast San Fernando Valley."

More Photos from 2008: The "Looking-Glass Self" Project (SOC 150)

Photo credits: Tuyen Nguyen, Helen Dosick, Helen Dosick.