Washburn Student Life held its annual “President’s Student Lunch” event Aug. 28 on the East Lawn at the Memorial Union from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. This Washburn tradition aims to welcome students back on campus and help them connect with President JuliAnn Mazachek.
Eric Grospitch, vice president for Student Life, talked about how the event is a great way to kick off the semester.
“This event really is just a welcome back to campus,” Grospitch said. “President Mazachek likes to be out and amongst our students so she can hear what they have going on, what they’re thinking about, how they’re feeling about the fall semester. And it always helps to have free food.”
The excitement was evident as Mazachek spoke about this event.
“We are just thrilled to be able to welcome so many students to Washburn’s campus,” Mazachek said. “We have a record number of students on campus this year, and you can sense it when you’re here. There’s just an energy and excitement.
“I love hearing their stories. I love hearing where they came from. I like knowing what they’re going to study, why they want to study that and what they want to accomplish while they’re here,” Mazachek said.
As the fall semester kicks off, engagement is high, and the experience of Washburn events is a key focus.
Mazachek emphasizes how events such as this one enhance a student’s experience here at Washburn.
“What we’ve noticed is that students are coming out again for activities. They want to engage with each other and with the faculty and the staff and make the most of their experience,” Mazachek said. “We are just here trying to help make sure that happens.”
President Mazachek highlights that these events not only enhance the student experience but provide a chance for students to get to know her. Students, like Nikki Evarts, sophomore nursing major, and Reagan Payton, sophomore physics major, were eager for this opportunity.
“Events like this are really for them to realize that the president is a person and that I’m interested in them, and that I want to be able to talk to them, and I want them to feel like they can come and talk to me,” Mazachek said.
Evarts mentioned her thoughts on the event, especially about President Mazachek.
“I think learning about the president [and] what she’s done for the campus [is] cool,” Evarts said.
Payton also shared her thoughts.
“I think hearing the perspective of someone who’s running a university, that’s really a unique job. And hearing stuff from her about that would be really interesting,” Payton said.
For those unable to attend this event, don’t worry – President Mazacheck wants students to know there will be more opportunities to connect.
In the meantime, Grospitch provided a way to reach out to Mazachek.
“She’s going to host some town halls for students through the course of the year, ” Grospitch said. “So, if there’s questions, concerns, there’s thoughts that people want to make sure are getting to her, they can send that to the president’s office email, and her staff will make sure that she sees them.”
The president’s email is [email protected].
Edited by Stuti Khadka and Jeremy Ford
