First Graduation Fair Helps Students Make The Transition
More than 430 graduating students from all eight divisions of The New School attended the first annual 2010 Graduation Fair sponsored by Student Services and the Office of Alumni Relations. As they entered the Theresa Lang Community and Student Center this past week, students were greeted by representatives from various offices including Career Development, Student Housing, International Student Services, Student Financial Services, Student Health Services, and the Registrar.
The fair provided graduating students with information and resources to smoothly transition to life after The New School. Alumni Relations provided gift bags packed with goodies to remember the university and ways to keep in touch and take advantage of exclusive discounts and benefits. There were information sessions on topics such as returning home (especially for international students), personal financial management, the role of new alumni, and tips on staying healthy and choosing health insurance. The highlights of the event included the authentic fortune telling machine from the movie Big featuring the character Zoltar.
The fair gave graduating students an opportunity to look back on their time at The New School. Akeema Anthony, a Lang graduate, is traveling to Senegal and Uganda to participate in social justice initiatives and will then look for a job and apartment. Anthony said, I appreciate the freedom to design my own course of study focusing on Africana Studies, and to work with great faculty and meet great people.,
International student Ali Chabuk will be returning home to the Ukraine with his degree from Milano. He looks forward to sharing his newly acquired knowledge with his colleagues in the government.
Nina Raja, a Media Studies student said that she is glad and bummed out about graduating, since she wanted to be a student for life, but is excited about a new beginning. She was recently offered a freelance position with PBS as an online producer. She hopes to come back to The New School to pursue a PhD.
Judy Cardona, assistant to the senior vice president for Student Services and lead organizer of the graduation fair, reflected on the event, I think the Graduation Fair was a wonderful event. Our students really enjoyed themselves and they came away with many useful tips on adjusting to life after graduation.,