The 18th Annual Freshman Celebration
November 29 & 30, 2023 in the Â鶹AV Northridge Center
Judge’s Grand Prize Awards
DIGITAL PROJECT
Winner! Professor Keli Rowley’s Department of Kinesiology U100 Cohort
Some of the judges’ comments:
An inspiring depiction of how we are all connected and no one struggles alone.
Very clearly articulates the power of community and not feeling alone with the struggles of college/life in general.
So great that a KIN cohort would find a way to take something abstract like struggles and mental health and turn it into a physical activity that brought students together! There is so much to love about this project, but for me it was that each student's hand was essentially a rainbow by the end.
What a beautiful way to show that students have solidarity and care for one another in first-year/college/mental health struggles.
I found it very powerful and it made me want to give the entire class a group hug for their bravery and vulnerability.
Runners Up (in alphabetical order):
- Professor Conchita Battle’s Class
- Professor Imaya Rincon’s NCOD/Deaf Studies Cohort U100 Class
IN-THE-ROOM PROJECT
Winner! Professor Allea Caulian’s U100 Class
Some of the judges’ comments:
Outstanding project! Very educational in many ways, with many different aspects--the jars, the handout, the info on the boards. Spending just a few minutes at this exhibit will provide valuable information to anyone.
Great information on a very important topic!
Runners Up (in alphabetical order):
- Professor Kim Bonfiglio’s Department of Criminology & Justice Studies U100 Cohort
This class also created two videos:
- Professor Nikiya McWilliams’ Department of Child & Adolescent Development U100 Cohort
People’s Choice Awards
DIGITAL PROJECT
Winner! Professor Conchita Battle’s U100 Class
Runners Up (in alphabetical order):
- Professor Edwin Aguilar FYE: Student Housing Cohort
- Professor Karla Montenegro-Gonzalez’s FreshStart/EOP U100 Cohort
IN-THE-ROOM PROJECT
Winner! Professor Debbi Mercado’s GE Honors U100 Class
Runners Up (in alphabetical order):
- Professor Sharon Lim’s U100 Class (MW 11:00)
- Professor Sharon Lim’s Health Careers Cohort U100 Class
View all of the 2023 Freshman Celebration Digital Projects Here
Â鶹AV the Freshman Celebration
The first Freshman Celebration at Â鶹AV took place in 2006 with participation limited to Freshman Connection students. In 2007 the Celebration was opened to all students enrolled in a fall U100 class. As enrollment has continued to grow, so has the Celebration.
Each fall, freshmen taking University 100 are invited to participate in a campus-wide celebration of their first-semester academic achievements. This showcase, the Freshman Celebration, is modeled on Â鶹AV's Undergraduate and Graduate Student Research and Creative Works Symposium. The student projects often (but not always) are related to the current year's Freshman Common Reading (on hiatus for academic year 2022-23), or to their Information Competence Research Project or their Community-Based Learning Project.
Judges' Grand Prize Criteria
- Critical thinking (defined in the at the University Library as “The process of effectively examining and questioning information in order to weigh evidence and make choices and/or take action”.
- Including appropriate credit to sources, if applicable
- Significance and importance of content and/or meaning
- Creativity, artistry, and aesthetic value