Student Success

The 2023 Freshman Celebration

 

The 2023 Freshman Celebration

The 18th Annual Freshman Celebration

November 29 & 30, 2023 in the CSUN Northridge Center

 

Judge’s Grand Prize Awards

DIGITAL PROJECT

Winner! Professor Keli Rowley’s Department of Kinesiology U100 Cohort

"Playing Tag"

Class Photo

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

"The Difference That One Class Can Make"

Class Photo

        • Professor Imaya Rincon’s NCOD/Deaf Studies Cohort U100 Class

"Empowered Conversations: A Journey in Deaf Culture"

Class Photo

 

IN-THE-ROOM PROJECT

Winner! Professor Allea Caulian’s U100 Class

"Composting at CSUN"

 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

"The Dark Side of Fast Fashion"

This class also created two videos:

"The Diversity of Children’s Literature within Classroom Libraries"

 

People’s Choice Awards

DIGITAL PROJECT

Winner! Professor Conchita Battle’s U100 Class

"The Difference That One Class Can Make"

Class Photo

 Runners Up (in alphabetical order):

          • Professor Edwin Aguilar FYE: Student Housing Cohort

"Day in the Life"

          • Professor Karla Montenegro-Gonzalez’s FreshStart/EOP U100 Cohort    

"Mental Health Awareness"

Class Photo

 

IN-THE-ROOM PROJECT

Winner! Professor Debbi Mercado’s GE Honors U100 Class

"The Struggle Is Real!"

 Runners Up (in alphabetical order):

          • Professor Sharon Lim’s U100 Class (MW 11:00)

"What Do Freshmen Really Think?"

          • Professor Sharon Lim’s Health Careers Cohort U100 Class

"Dunk ‘N Post"

 

View all of the 2023 Freshman Celebration Digital Projects Here

View all of the 2023 Freshman Celebration Photos Here

 

  

About the Freshman Celebration

The first Freshman Celebration at CSUN 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 CSUN'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 Information Competence Vocabulary list 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