Work. Home. Life. And school. It’s more than fair to say that graduate students in the College of Business Administration are always juggling to keep a lot of demanding balls in the air.
That’s why the students welcomed a relaxing change of pace during Graduate Student Appreciation Week held February 27 through March 1, 2012, at Florida International University’s (FIU) newest location on Brickell Avenue in Downtown Miami.
“We wanted to do something special for our students here,” said Erin Dowd (BBA ’08, MA ’10), program coordinator for marketing and recruiting, Executive and Professional MBA Programs (EMBA and PMBA). “They are hard-working professionals with a serious sense of purpose, so they deserved a little fun here at the Brickell site.”
Dowd and Ferinelys Cabrera (MIB ’08), program manager, Finance and Real Estate Graduate Programs, put in long hours planning, preparing and hosting the events.
Students relax into fun-filled nightly activities.
Graduate Student Appreciation Week kicked off with carnival night, where students were invited to drop by the dining hall between 5:00 and 7:30 pm for games, prizes, cotton candy, popcorn and a themed photo opportunity.
Tuesday night was game night featuring FIU trivia and Wii competitions. Wednesday brought “beach at Brickell” activities, including free chair massages and tropical “mocktails.” The week wrapped up on Thursday night with an ice cream social.
“We also gave each student a branded FIU portfolio pad and matching pen as an appreciation gift,” Cabrera said.
A good time was had by all, with more than 250 students from the Finance and Real Estate Program and friends from the College of Arts & Sciences joining in throughout the week of activities.
“The feedback we received from the students was overwhelmingly positive,” Dowd said. “They appreciated the effort that was put forth on their behalf—and we all look forward to doing this again next year.”
