The Jack J. Valenti School of Communication hosted its first ever Valenti Fest Thursday. | Photo Courtesy of Summer Harlow
The Jack J. Valenti School of Communication courtyard on Thursday was filled with carnival games, snow cones and food during their first Valenti Fest.
The communication school officially put a title to the event this year, Communication Manager for the Valenti School of Communication LaRahia Smith said.
The event gave students a chance to meet faculty within the school, bond with other students within their college and learn more about organizations related to their majors.
“We always try to do something at the beginning of the year, it’s just been growing over time, so this year we decided to go all in,” said Director of the Jack J. Valenti School of Communication Temple Northup. “The main point of this is to not just build community, but to also get students aware of the different organizations that blend into the school.”
Walking into Valenti Fest, students were handed a red point card that had tasks they needed to complete before winning prizes and merchandise.
One of the tasks on the card were getting to know the organizations that were set up in booths.
Among the organizations were CLASS Ambassadors, Program for Excellence and Selling Curriculum, The Public Relations Student Society for America, and American Advertising Federation, all of which relate to majors within the college.
At the CLASS Ambassadors table, president of the organization, Christie Tsao, was calling over students to come see what the organization was all about.
“We’re hoping to reach out to more students, even though we have the support from all the faculty and staff,” Tsao said. “I know there are so many students who want to be involved, but they’re not sure how.
The PRSA table was surrounded by students interested in PR, like public relations senior, Brooke Broadway, who recently became a member.
“This is my first time coming and it’s super fun. I really like how they kind of have these interactive activities to do,” Broadway said. “This is the first time that I’m getting to meet other people that are in my major besides the people who are in my PR classes.”
The entire event, planning, set-up and all, was made possible by the faculty and staff at the communication school, including advisers Trever Thomas and Bree Ray.
The event went smoothly because of the teamwork of the Valenti staff and the planning done weeks in advance, Thomas said.
“We wanted to do something a little different this semester,” Smith said “The inspiration is instead of just focusing on student organizations, we also tried to get our faculty and staff out so students could come meet and really engage with them.”
