The university’s Presidential Student Ambassadors School Outreach group held their second annual Lancer 4 A Day event March 24, introducing 100 middle school students to what college is all about. The students, from East Middle School and Sullivan Middle School, gathered in the multipurpose gym to do interactive and informative activities hosted by campus clubs and departments.
The middle schoolers were broken into groups and had the opportunity to go to multiple stations during their day at Worcester State. The Nursing Association was there to talk about the nursing field and teach students how to perform CPR on mannequins, and the Education Department had puzzles for students and talked about careers in the field.
“Majors are putting together fun, age-appropriate activities for the students to learn more about the majors and get a feel for them,” said PSA and junior occupational therapy major Lizbeth Alcantara Ruiz.
Occupational Therapy’s club SOTA had a balloon toss, Twister, and Uno for students to play, while the Geography Department had various minerals to show the students and talked about the fields of geography, environmental science, and physics.
“Feels great to be a part of this. I was skeptical at first. I did not know if the kids would enjoy this event, but I got a lot of questions from students,” said PSA and senior computer science major Gracia Kitenge. “You can tell the students want to know more.”
The Counseling Center had students do tricks with the center’s emotional support dog MK, and the Wellness Center had an area where the kids were able to play basketball and cornhole. “It’s awesome seeing all of the kids here and engaged,” said PSA and senior elementary education major Nia Smith.
The University Police Department had a station, as well. The World Languages Department had one showing traditional dolls and books.
“This is a great opportunity for Worcester State to engage students early on,” said PSA and senior nursing major Kimberly-Ann Lang. “It’s a good way for students to learn about their choices before high school and to start thinking about what they may want to do after high school.”
Lancer 4 A Day is an event that the PSAs want to continue in the coming years. “I think it’s wonderful what the PSAs are doing. Lancer 4 a Day is a different way to do an open house / tour,” said Christine Babbitt, the PSA graduate coordinator.