The Freshman Celebration 2009: Archived page

About the Freshman Celebration

(Note: This webpage is the archive for the 2009 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

2009 Judges' Awards: Winners and Photos

• Grand Prize: "The Lamp Shines Bright": a "theatre collage" inspired by Steve Lopez's The Soloist. Created by students in University 100 Honors with Prof. Ellyn Gersh Lerner.
• First Runner-Up: “The Hats We Wear” and “Post-Class Secrets”: military hats symbolizing the need to fight for one’s rights as an individual in a world that is sometimes hostile, and “a book of those aspects of our lives that we keep to ourselves.” Prof. Barbara Boyd’s class.
• Second Runner-Up: “Society as an Orchestra”: students interviewed local business owners to find out their role in society’s orchestra and from this information, created miniatures depicting each role along with articles for the class newspaper. Prof. Ellen Stohl’s University 100 class.
• Third-Runner-Up (tie): “Violins of Reminiscence”: students constructed beautiful violins from a wide range of materials (including wood, cardboard, wire, paper, and [cooked] cake batter) to represent meaningful elements of their own life stories. Prof. Marya McFadden’s University 100 classes.
• Third Runner-Up (tie): “Sherman Alexie and the Pine Ridge Reservation: Poverty in Focus”: Warm Jacket Drive and picture board. Prof. Sharron Kollmeyer Gerfen’s English 097 Freshman Connection class .

Course Director's Honorable Mention: Winners and Photos

• “One Step at a Time”: each pair of artfully decorated shoes represents the progress made by its owner between September and now. Prof. Chris Evans’s University 100 class.
• “My Freshman Semester in Review”: photo albums and a tabletop tree sculpture depicting highlights from each student's fall semester: Prof. Beverly Cope’s University 100 class.
• “Career Path Boxes”: three-dimensional representations of interviews and research about various career paths. Prof. Shadi Ganjavi’s University 100 class.
• “L.A. Travel Brochures”: research-based poster-brochures offering imaginary tours of L.A. sites mentioned in The Soloist. Prof. Wendy Snyder’s University 100 class.
• “The Five Ethical Principles and The Future of Food”: posters evaluating the film The Future of Food with respect to the five ethical principles in U100. Melanie Klein’s University 100 class.

More photos.... and thanks to the photographers!

Additional photos of the 2009 Freshman Celebration by the following photorgraphers are available on our blog.

• Barbara Boyd (many)
• Laurette Hayden (some)
• Maggi Michel (many)
• Cheryl Spector (one or two)

About the Freshman Celebration

• Each fall, freshmen taking University 100 and/or other Freshman Connection classes are invited to participate in a public celebration of first-semester academic achievement. CSUN freshmen can ask their UNIV 100 or other Freshman Connection class instructor for details about how to participate and which class projects might be appropriate for display. For more information, email Cheryl Spector
• The Freshman Celebration is modeled on CSUN's Undergraduate and Graduate Student Research and Creative Works Symposium. The 2009 Freshman Celebration featured several exhibits responding to this year's Freshman Common Reading which is The Soloist by Steve Lopez, and included posters, a live performance, scholarly journals, photographs, essays, a Facebook page to accommodate presentation software displays, and a variety of artworks including shadow boxes, handmade violins, identity mirrors, intricately decorated shoes, and other exhibits of scholarly and creative work by CSUN freshmen enrolled in Fall 2009 UNIV 100 and Freshman Connection classes.
• Also included in the 2009 Celebration was a warm jacket drive: students in Prof. Sharron Kollmeyer Gerfen's Fall 2009 English 097 class were inspired by reading Sherman Alexie's Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian to collect winter coats that were sent to the Friends of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation for distribution to families in need.