SMC 'Starts Up' with Welcoming Event
Kaitlyn Standifer has been a student at Santa Monica College since 2019. Today at the Start Up Event, Standifer is showing her cousin Alexander White around the campus, as it is his first term. Santa Monica, Calif. September 13, 2022 (Tsen Ee Lin | The Corsair)
Dancing, cheering and bustling stands greeted hundreds of students at Santa Monica College (SMC) Start Up event Tuesday, Sep. 13. The event provided a place for networking and getting to know the community and resources SMC has to provide for its students.
Curated and led by the Dean of Community and Academic Relations, Kiersten Elliot, the event was a first for SMC as many clubs and programs came together to help students get introduced to programs like Adelante, Black Collegians, and the Basic Needs program that can help students with their personal and academic needs.
Games like Jenga, corn hole and a special bingo with prizes were used during the event to encourage students to get to know one another and enjoy their overall experience as new SMC students. The bingo game was made for students to introduce themselves to 25 other students in order to enter a chance of winning random gift cards like starbucks gift cards, gift cards to the SMC library and much more.
One club present was the Veterans club. Student veterans can have a hard time adapting into a school setting, having spent much time away from a school environment. The Veterans club helps these students that are coming back after being stationed for so long by introducing them to others with similar experiences, giving them the space and environment they need to come back to school. The president of the Veterans club, Corey Theiss, is currently “pursuing tuition assistance to pay veterans tuition while they’re in service.”
The Wellness and Wellbeing center had also made it clear that there will always be a safe space for students that are just coming in or has always been there as they do provide a 24 hour hotline for students to call in case of an emergency. To have access to this, all you need is to have been enrolled in at least one class in order to get the mental health services that will be provided, as mental health has become far more important as a strong and healthy state of mind can have dramatic effects on a students performance.
