3rd Annual Student Success Day

Charles Stish, staff writer

Before the end of a semester and the horror it brings with final examinations, students will be subjected to the equally dreaded midterms. Many students know the pain that comes from midterms, as they have to punch and persevere through several papers, tests, assignments, and projects from various courses before finally being able to relax in the academic breaks that come in either the Fall Break or, more relevant now, Spring Break.

With oncoming pressure from midterms, students can find themselves stressed out and rushing through their work or be too intimidated and flustered to adequately or comfortably perform it. Either way, students can feel confused, stressed, or helpless as the due dates approach faster and faster like a stampede of wild horses, unrelenting and harsh.

The staff and faculty of Piedmont Virginia Community College (PVCC) are aware of this, by not only seeing it affect the behavior of students, but more than likely from experiencing the same pressure from their school days. Because of this, PVCC’s Student Success Office holds an event during the week of midterms for students to not only have a fun and interactive event to help relax, but also for students to better inform themselves about the several academic help resources at the college that can help students alleviate stress and gain more confidence in accomplishing their midterms.

“We do it at this time in the semester because this when the students are going to have to get their feet wet. Midterms are happening, and we try to do everything we can to help them…We always try to find new ways to help them. Finding new ways is one of those things that keep me up at night,” said David Lerman, the coordinator of Student Success.

The event was held March 1 in the Bolick Student Center in two parts. The first part took place from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m.,  with the adjacent classrooms, the North Hall Meeting Room, and even the Auditorium (M229), being temporarily occupied for several different informative and interactive seminars. There were ten Dessert Seminars in all, titled that because of the free cookies they provided. Five took place from 11 – 11:25 a.m. while the remaining five took place during the last thirty minutes of the eleven o’clock hour. The seminars tackled different academic subjects including: college transfers, financial aid, managing test anxiety, and even how to correctly use commas. Each seminar provided a chance for students to enter a raffle to win various prizes by writing on a slip of paper the name of the seminar they attended, their name, student identification number, and email. Students could even receive extra credit for attending the event depending on their instructor.

The second part was the resource fair in which the academic departments set up  information fliers, and even some interactive exhibits, where students could learn about and talk to the different representatives of each department about their services for the student. These departments included: the Betty Sue Jessup Library, the Writing Center, and the First Quadrant Math Center.

During this period, the students who visited the tables received stickers, denoting that they visited the tables. After ascertaining five stickers, a student could then walk out onto the patio where, in the abnormally warm February weather, could receive free pizza and drinks whilst listening to upbeat music like Bobby McFerrin’s “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.”

One could say the warm weather of the day uncannily reflected the energetic atmosphere and feeling of community as both students and faculty indulged in friendly discussion as they ate cheesy, tomato sauce filled, Italian goodness or sated their sweet tooth with chocolate chip cookies.

Even PVCC President Frank Friedman arrived to see the exhibits and enjoy chatting and eating pizza with fellow PVCC community members. Lerman remarked, “It means a lot that the president is here watching this because it’s an issue [students stressing about and/or failing classes] he takes seriously too.”

With a large and energetic turnout, one could accurately infer the Student Success Office accomplished their goal. As many students walked away that day not only with bellies full of free food and drinks, but a mind full of new and helpful knowledge about the resources they have at hand to help conquer the dreaded  midterms.