On Friday, January 24th, Kent held a Course Fair in the John Gray Park ‘28 Library. The fair was open to all community members, a novel opportunity allowing faculty to share their passions for the classes they teach, and giving students the opportunity to delve deeper into the courses offered at Kent. These classes ranged from Pandemics to Introduction to Fashion Design to Advanced Studies in Gothic & Domestic Thrillers: Death by the Patriarchy.
Each department prepared a display board to present at the fair, along with a comprehensive list of the courses offered in each subject. In addition to this, visuals or interactive activities were provided to spark student interaction, including the Engineering Department’s 3D printer, the History Department’s “Guess the Historical Figure” Game, and the Science Department’s models of the brain. Representatives from the Studies Office also led a separate booth at the event, able to consult with students and recommend courses to take based on grades, academic interests, and graduation requirements.
The Course Fair was the culmination of the endeavors of the Studies Office, Department Heads, and Library faculty. Ms. Memoli, the Director of Studies at Kent, explains, “Dr. MacNeil, Ms. Voorhees, and I met to discuss the purpose and logistics prior to finalizing the details. The Library Staff set up the space beforehand, Dr. MacNeil and Ms. O’Dwyer made sure the Department Chairs understood what we were looking for, and I worked with our Marketing and Communications Office to get the necessary advertising out to the students ahead of time.” These collective efforts allowed the Course Fair to be executed smoothly.
Though the fair was an extremely useful resource in preparing students to pragmatically choose their courses for next year, its greater value lay in allowing students and teachers alike to explore and discuss their interests and grow excited for the year to come. Ms. Campbell, the English Department Chair, said, “I loved the Course Fair! It was wonderful sharing all of our new course offerings for next year with students and hearing from them what they’re looking forward to taking. And, who doesn’t love a Selfie with Shakespeare?” The Chair of the Mathematics Department, Mrs. Galusha, added that preparation for the fair required “a lot of creativity from the awesome math department team! And candy… lots of candy.” Mr. Mahollitz, a Research Librarian in the JGP ‘28 Library, shared, “The Course Fair was a hit! Several students, and faculty members, commented that they wished something similar had been available in prior years. Anecdotally, you can’t ask for much more than that.”
In these ways, the Course Fair served as an informative and interesting experience for all, allowing students to fully soak in all the opportunities surrounding them, whether as rising seniors choosing what electives to pursue during their final year, or as rising sophomores looking to broaden their horizons for their second year at Kent.
