Wright State University is full of diverse colleges and majors, one of which is the College of Liberal Arts. Hosting a wide range of practices, CoLA’s degrees offer many different ways of thinking, with lots of possible applications in the career world. On Tuesday, Sept. 16, an event called Taste of CoLA was hosted in the lobby of Allyn Hall.
Purpose and goals
The tables were set up with table cloths covering them, and papers for each liberal arts program were displayed on the table in between unique soda flavors like mustard and bacon.
As a play-on to the name CoLA, like the soda, the team comprised interesting-flavored drinks as the primary grab for this event.
Becca Webb is the Director of Enrollment Management & Community Engagement at WSU. She was responsible for the planning of this event, and shared the drink inspirations and limitations.
“I'm a diabetic, so it has to be sugar free. So I haven't tried a number of them, but last year we had Morehead soda, and I discovered they were all expired,” Webb said. “I [also] tried to get kosher and diet and aspartame free.”
The display of a variety of sodas brought people up to the tables, but after approaching the set-up, they saw the many fliers for every program CoLA offers.
“We have five Study Abroad coming up, and they all guarantee a $500 scholarship if [students] wear their rights, make t-shirts and take pictures of themselves while they're there. [It's the] easiest scholarship ever. Plus, a number of them are coded as fall courses or spring courses, even though they travel in the summer. So you can use your financial aid Pell Grants,” Webb said.
Chances to network with university staff are important, because they help build a wider network of people you know at WSU.
Student experience
Abbi Barber is a sophomore with a dual major in English and political science. As a double liberal arts major, Barber spends a lot of time in the lounge of Allyn. She shared that she did not know the event was going on, but went to the area to do some studying.
“If I get a master's in poli sci, I would want to be in, like, political psychology and why people choose politically, [like] political parties that they do... if it's just like more nature or more nurture,” Barber said.
Although she may not have known about the event beforehand, she still gained a lot from it. She picked up a flier on microcredentials and got to try fun flavors of soda. Some of them were enjoyable, but Barber shared that she avoided the bacon soda because she dislikes bacon.
The rich flavors of CoLA
CoLA has a lot to offer, outside of just fun soda flavors offered at their events.
Karen Lahm is a professor of sociology and the coordinator for crime and justice studies at WSU. She shared her experience with CoLA and the values that it has added to her life.
“I went here as a student, got my bachelor's and master's here. So for me, CoLA is my whole life. Yeah, [I] got my sociology degree here, master's degree and then came back. I think CoLA is great because it's diverse. We have all kinds of different programs. You can mix and match them together and really make yourself extremely marketable and extremely serviceable to all kinds of different segments of business,” Lahm said.
There are many ways to get involved with CoLA, from attending events such as this one, to joining the newly revitalized English club at WSU.
