A Brunch of New Beginnings

What happens when you cross new Gators with food, friends and friendly competition? A welcome brunch for first-year students in the UF/IFAS College of Agricultural and Life Sciences.

The “CALS Loves You a Brunch” event provided more than 300 students across the college’s 23 majors with an opportunity to meet each other, ask questions about resources and programs available in the college, and play a friendly game with some of the CALS Ambassadors.

A student, wearing a backpack, listens to a person talking and holding a map while seated at a table with plants and other gardening resources.
CALS Convocation 2022 brunch event at the Straughn Center.

While engaging and learning about students’ stories and ambitions, Dean Elaine Turner offered resources to help students achieve academic and career goals. The newly renovated CALS Print and Study Lab was promoted as a space for students to study or collaborate. Additionally, the Field and Fork Farm and Gardens were presented as an opportunity for students to gain hands-on gardening experiences through internship opportunities during the academic year.

Two students in orange shirts stand before a putter green. They both lean on golf club putters.
CALS Convocation 2022 brunch event at the Straughn Center.

To set the atmosphere for brunch, the smell of good old-fashioned biscuits and gravy mixed with a freshly brewed pot of coffee filled the room. Various pastries and fresh fruit offered a splash of color and variety to the delicious-looking spreads of food. As attendees continued to enjoy their treats, for those who were outside, it was game on. Participants eagerly engaged in competitions of miniature golf, giant Connect Four and corn hole.

As an added challenge to CALS students, the event kicked off a campus scavenger hunt. Through this campus search, students were encouraged to visit University of Florida landmarks and resources available to students, such as the CALS Collaboration Room in McCarty Hall D or Century Tower. The Collaboration Room is a great place for CALS students to study between classes throughout the semester.

To commemorate the start of their semester, students and their families posed with props and signs in the gator photo booth section. UF/IFAS CALS wishes everyone a happy and successful semester. Go Gators!

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Posted: August 24, 2022


Category: UF/IFAS Teaching
Tags: Brunch, Convocation, Event, First Year, Student Organization


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