Leah Sadoian

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DESIGNING STUDENT PROGRAMMING
EVENT #1

Title:
Why We Give: Student Scholarship Challenge
Purpose:
The purpose of this event is to introduce philanthropical practices to students through the
lens of University Advancement. This three part event encapsulates (1) introducing ideas of
philanthropy, (2) introducing University Advancement and what they do for the college, and (3)
introducing a month-long giving challenge for students to raise enough money for a student
scholarship.
Learning Outcomes:
- After this event, students will be able to define philanthropy and describe what University
Advancement does for the college.
- After this event, students will be able to demonstrate and apply knowledge towards
philanthropy by participating in the Giving Challenge.
Literature Citation:
Romano, J.C., Gallagher, G., and Shugart, S.C. (2010). More than an open door: Deploying
philanthropy to student access and success in American community colleges. New
Directions for Student Services, 130, pg. 55-70.
How the Literature Contributed to Your Activity:
This article provides a case study of how professionals in student development can work
together with foundation colleagues to provide resources and learning experiences for students.
Although this case study is for community colleges, who face different challenges when it comes
to philanthropy then traditional four year institutions, it provides important information on how
the relationship between student affairs and advancement can be developed and fostered to
educate students.
Prep Materials:
- Start connecting with University Advancement early-on to develop this event. Often times,
any fundraising efforts benefiting the college need to go through them and get department
approval.
- Research other universities who have student philanthropy programs to get an idea of what
has worked before as far as engaging students and encouraging them to give
- Develop a timeline for the three programs
- Work with University Advancement to develop the content for each event
- Invite them to present on areas they have expertise in
- Connect with faculty or staff to see the possibility of a matching program for gifts from the
students
- Connect with student leaders to advertise and encourage students to attend this event

Leah Sadoian

- the more students who attend, the more potential donations for the challenge (and more
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money for the college!)

Have each event as scheduled, run fundraising campaign through the month, announce total
earned through all-student email

Evaluation:
- Send a follow-up survey after the event and challenge ends, to track whether students
retained information about philanthropy and University Advancement (ask specific
questions about workshop content).
- Connect with University Advancement to see if there has been an increase of student
interaction in their office as a result of the event
- Another major evaluation will be total funds raised as a result of the challenge (this aligns
with the second SLO stated above).
DESIGNING STUDENT PROGRAMMING
EVENT #2
Title:
After-Hours: Stories from Around the World
Purpose:
The purpose of this event is to help students who have recently traveled or studied abroad
in the reentry process through sharing their stories with students on campus. This casual evening
event will feature a coffee-shop atmosphere, with food and drinks provided and space for
students to share stories, photographs, and meaningful memories from their time abroad.
Learning Outcomes:
- After this event, students will be able to describe meaningful experiences other students
who recently traveled or studied abroad went through while abroad.
- After this event, students will be able to articulate best practices to help other students
through the reentry process
Literature Citation:
Young, G.E. (2014). Reentry: Supporting students in the final stage of study abroad. New
Directions for Student Services, 146, pg. 59-67.
How the Literature Contributed to Your Activity:
This article presents a variety of ways to support students through the reentry process,
one being encouraging students to embrace the dissonance and share it with others. This research
supports the purpose of events like this, where students are encouraged to share and interact with
their experiences abroad, rather than try to ignore the discomfort present with reentry.
Prep Materials:

Leah Sadoian

- Connect with Office of Off-Campus Programming to see if they have any resources about the
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reentry process in order to do research for this event

Connect with students who recently studied abroad to see if they would be interested in
sharing about their travels with other students
Reserve space and ask local coffee shops to donate coffee or if they would be interested in
coming to campus to serve their speciality coffee.
- Ask local bakeries if they would be interested in providing some tasty snacks!
Develop take-away guides for students that provide tips and practices to help students who
are going through the reentry process
Have students share their meaningful experiences and what has been helpful for them
- Brief Q&A withs students can be held after the event, or have students offer to follow up
with them individually after the event.

Evaluation:
- After the event, talk with students who presented. How did they feel? Have them identify what
about the event was helpful for them
- After a few days, follow-up with them and see if there has been a change with their friends
who attended or other students who may have reached out to them
- Talk with the Office of Off-Campus Programming to see if they have noticed an increase in
student interaction, or utilization of resources regarding the re-entry process.
- Send a follow-up email and ask for students to articulate the best practices for helping fellow
students with re-entry. Offer an incentive for the first person to respond with a correct answer
(ie: gift card, etc.)
DESIGNING STUDENT PROGRAMMING
EVENT #3 (NONTRADITIONAL STUDENTS EVENT)
Title:
Envisioning Your Career: Plan Ahead!
Purpose:
This event is meant to help adult or continuation students plan for their careers after
college. They are in a unique spot where they might feel behind in planning for their careers,
and this workshop will help nontraditional students connect with the Career Services on campus
to plan for their vocation after college.
Learning Outcomes:
- After this event, students will be able to identify resources available to them on campus
regarding various aspects of Career Services (ie: resume revision, internship placements, job
applications, mock interviews etc.)
- After this event, students will be able to apply techniques discussed in future job applications
and employers.

Leah Sadoian

Literature Citation:
Clapton, G. (2013). Minding the gap: Assisting the transition from the academy to the profession.
Social Work Education, 32(3), pg. 411-415.
How the Literature Contributed to Your Activity:
This article, although it looks specifically at social work graduates, discusses the
challenges about the gap between teaching and employment in their field. This article supports
the necessity of programs that help students transition between college and employment,
especially nontraditional students who might not identify with regular resources.
Prep Materials:
- Connect with Career Services to evaluate resources they have available on campus, especially
towards nontraditional students
- Create a workshop highlighting three areas of Career Planning (also include information on
where to find Career Services and resources they provide to students)
- Identifying future vocational areas
- Enhancing personal understanding of skill set (tailoring resume, etc.)
- Preparing for job applications/interviews
- Reach out to any Faculty or Staff who were/are nontraditional students to help plan the event
- Reach out to local employers who would be interested in presenting what they look for in
employees to these nontraditional students
- Reserve room, purchase food, request any additional technology needed for the
presentation/workshop.
- Present workshop with Q&A or meet-and-greet with Career Services staff after the workshop
Evaluation:
- Ask audience questions about material presented at the end of the event (especially around the
three areas of the workshop) and give away small prizes to people who answer correctly
- Stay connected with Career Services, ask if nontraditional students who attended this event
and are now using their resources to pursue jobs/internships
- Collect emails from attendees and send a follow-up survey inquiring about specific
information presented, and whether they have taken any action following the workshop
- Invite attendees to bring their revised resumes to the Career Services office for evaluation
(also assessing whether they took information from the workshop and applied it to their
resumes).
DESIGNING STUDENT PROGRAMMING
EVENT #4 (MULTICULTURALISM/DIVERSITY EVENT)
Title:
Race Representation in Pop Culture

Leah Sadoian

Purpose:
The purpose of this event is to raise awareness of race representation in pop culture and
help students gain skills to combat negative representations of people of color in the media,
through interactive activities with current television shows, music videos, and popular film clips.
Learning Outcomes:
- After this event, students will be able to recognize and deconstruct negative race
representations in pop culture.
- After this event, students will be able to identify positive race representations in pop culture
and explain why they are positive.
Literature Citation:
Rubie-Davies, C. M., Liu, S., Katie Lee, K. (2013). Watching each other: Portrayals of gender
and ethnicity in television advertisements. The Journal of Social Psychology, 153(2), pg.
175-195.
How the Literature Contributed to Your Activity:
The literature helped provide a framework to the program, giving one example of how
particular groups can be isolated through race representation in pop culture. In this article, gender
and ethnicity are two examples of how media can portray stereotypes, which are easily absorbed
by audiences.
Prep Materials:
- Reach out to professors on campus who have expertise or research experience in this field.
- Ask if they would be interested in helping facilitate a conversation about race representation
in pop culture, or if they have materials that would be helpful
- Design a presentation with techniques to deconstruct race representation
- Create interactive group activity, with clips for each group to deconstruct and present to
everyone
- Collaborate with ethnic organizations on campus to help organize and create the event
- what would they like to be included? can they facilitate small group conversations? etc.
- Reserve room space, purchase food for the event, confirm faculty guests
Evaluation:
- Interactive group activity: each group receives a clip from TV or film and has to identify
and/or deconstruct the race representation using techniques described in the presentation. Each
group presents with the others at the end of the workshop.
- Provide take-away resources with steps to dismantle negative race representations in pop
culture, and offer follow-up meetings if necessary
DESIGNING STUDENT PROGRAMMING
EVENT #5 (FAITH/SPIRITUALITY EVENT)
Title:

Leah Sadoian

Exploring Faith in the World: Interfaith Panel

Purpose:
This event is help students learn about different world religions, extending their
connotation of faith beyond their own religious beliefs. Through a panel discussion, students
will see the similarities, differences, and connections between different faith world views.
Learning Outcomes:
- After this event, students will be able to describe and distinguish between different religious
beliefs/faith world views.
- After this event, students will be able to identify and seek out resources for questions about
different religious beliefs/faith world views.
Literature Citation:
Nelms, L., Hutchins, E., Hutchins, D., and Pursley, R. (2007). Spirituality and the health of
college students. Journal of Religion and Health (46)2, pg. 249-265.
How the Literature Contributed to Your Activity:
This research helps support the conclusion that there is a relationship between spirituality
and health of college students. One of the main findings from this research states The positive
relationship between college students, who reported experiencing more life satisfaction with
regard to a self-reported level of spirituality is an indication that college students are integrating
a spiritual component into the emotional dimension of health (pg. 262). This helps support the
purpose of spirituality-centered programs, because there is a significant relationship between
regard to spirituality and self-reported health/well-being.
Prep Materials:
- Reach out to members in the community who are Muslim, Hindu, Atheist, Jewish, Agnostic,
etc. who would like to speak on the panel
- Communicate with a faculty member who has expertise in World Religions to moderate the
panel
- Create questions with students, graduate theology students, spirituality office, in advance, and
share with panelists prior to the event
- Reserve space, purchase food, set-up technology needed for the event
- Have each panelist introduce themselves and share a bit about how they found their
religion/faith as the event begins (helps create a foundation for students who are unfamiliar
with different faith world views)
- After the event, encourage students to continue the conversation inside classroom, in
ResHalls, reach out to panelists (pass out contact information/resources)
Evaluation:

Leah Sadoian

- Ask Theology professors to follow-up with students in their classroom, or offer extra-credit to

students who turn in a write-up on the event, focused on questions that track learning
outcomes specified above. Ask faculty to share these submissions with the planning
committee to help with assessment
Follow-up with non-university guests who were on the panel to see if any students
communicated with them about resources regarding their religion or to continue the
conversation.