As final exams loom, College of Education delivers “a lot of good stuff” to first-year students

The best kinds of annual traditions, by and large, involve lots and lots of snacks, and that certainly applies to the College of Education and Human Development’s care package effort for freshmen.

It’s a springtime gesture of support both simple and surprisingly elaborate.

Every April, as the semester draws to a close, dozens and dozens of bags of exam-week supplies are assembled and presented to the college’s first-year students, with each bearing a handwritten note of encouragement.

On the afternoon of April 23, faculty, staff and alumni members of the college’s leadership council once again converged on the Teaching Resources Center (TRC) in Peters Hall to put together more than 200 of those packages from totes filled with various goodies.

The contents ran the gamut from sweet to savory, and school supplies to boot – Ritz and Goldfish crackers, travel-sized cans of Pringles, Rice Crispy Treats, Oreo Minis and Chips Ahoy cookies, plus Skittles, Starbust and Nerds candies as well as Post-It notes and Hi-Liter pens.

 “I think the students are going to be very happy,” said Director of Gift Planning Rebekah LaPlante, who helped coordinate the bags. “It looks right up the alley of the kinds of things they’d be interested in.”

As she busily assisted, Deidra Reynolds-Journey ’77 concurred: “This is a lot of good stuff. I would eat all of this.

“From what I’ve heard from everybody, it goes over great,” she noted. “It’s nice to have snacks when you’re studying. There’s nothing like a pick-me-up at midnight.”

Susan Marchi ’70 said she’s participated in the activity every year as a way to give back while also having a little fun.

“I get to spend time with some of my favorite people,” Marchi explained.

While the process can sometimes span a leisurely, talkative afternoon, this year’s volunteers established an efficient assembly line, making short work of the tasks, and in no time, the supply tubs were empty, and the rows and rows of care packages were full.

“This one was fast,” Kristen Swanson Houston ’98, M.S. ’01, said. “I actually broke a sweat.”

“We had two hours to do it, and we’re done in 30 minutes,” noted Tina Weiner ’72, who brought to the event her 6-year-old mini golden retriever, Zoë .

In addition to the fellowship and the satisfaction of a friendly gesture, the work offered other compensations as well.

 “I got paid in Nerds,” Reynolds-Journe joked afterward as she munched on a packet of leftover candy.