By Curtis Creekmore

Carnivals, fiestas and bowling have now become a part of the College of Education and Human Development.

A recent $20,000 grant from the associate provost’s office has allowed the college to offer such events in an effort to spark student success, engagement and satisfaction – called SES for short, according to Dr. Margaret Pentecost, the assistant dean of Student Services at the University of Louisville.

The theme of the events put on by the college is “A Major Connection.”

“We’re trying to have people connect with their major: the faculty in their major, with upper-level peers in their major, with other students in their major, because if you’re a freshman or a sophomore, you might not even know who your peers in that major are,” Pentecost said.

Pentecost said the events are mainly aimed at sophomores, since sophomores often seem like the forgotten class.

“We’ve been focusing on the sophomore class, sending them e-mails and trying to keep them connected,” she said.

“There’s actually no class that all sophomores take, and you may or may not even have one major class in your major area. [Sophomores] are just kind of disconnected, and we’ve really been focusing on catching them before they go into something called the ‘sophomore slump,'” Pentecost said.

Several of the events have been held in the Red Barn, focusing on all three areas of the SES. Another of the events was called “Connecting the Dots to Graduation,” where a jeopardy-like game show was held, allowing the students to play and answer questions about what they need to do to get to graduation day.

The “Financial Fiesta” was also held in the Red Barn, offering Latin American foods and tips on how to keep finances in check and how to not allow them to rule you.

The grant is not only being used to fund events like these, but will also be used to cover a few other costs.

“[The money] is going to pay for peer mentors and graduate assistants, and has paid for a lot of the supplies for the seminars and renting out the Red Barn,” said graduate assistant Laura Kramer, who coordinated last Thursday’s carnival event.

“All of our events are free for the students to come to, and we usually offer free food for the students that attend,” Kramer said.

Many students from the college were asked to help out with the event, from making snow cones to bagging popcorn.

“‘Connecting to Your Major’ helped me understand how many hours I needed to graduate,” said freshman Lauren Young.

“I think it’s a good way to meet people and help meet the faculty.”

Another student echoed her thoughts.

“It’s always nice when you go into the Education Building and you’re like, ‘Oh, I know that person and that staff member,'” said Autumn Morkin, also a freshman in the College of Education. “It really helps to meet the faculty.”

The events have been well-attended, attracting 100-120 students and staff to each event.