The President’s Picnic was held on Aug. 17, right after the annual New Student Convocation. The tradition has been a part of Northwestern State University since before President James Genovese joined the campus community. The event drew freshmen, volunteers and staff to Iberville Dining Hall for food and fun to kick off the semester.
During the picnic, dinner was served, music was played and speeches were made. It was an opportunity for students to not only meet President Genovese, but also to get to know their classmates before the start of the semester.
President Genovese felt strongly about this tradition, as it allowed him to meet and connect with many of the freshmen. “I make it my business to be with the students,” Genovese said, “We pride ourselves on being a family here, and to be a family we have to have transparency, communication and meet together and talk.”
The picnic allowed NSU’s president to be able to interact with the students, and Genovese wanted them to know that he supports them, whether that be in academics, sports or the arts. “I think it’s so important for them to know that they have a president who cares about them,” Genovese said.
Samantha Parks is a freshman criminal justice major whose goal for the year was to get out of her comfort zone and enjoy the school year. “I enjoyed meeting everyone and feeling like I was a part of something so new,” Parks said. “ Everyone was so different from each other, and it made it such an incredible experience… I also enjoyed that it was such an open event. Everyone was welcome.”
Karma Serigny, a freshman business administration major, attended the picnic to make new friends and enjoyed listening to the speeches. Their favorite speech was “the one that [President Genovese] made. I thought from his speech that he was inspiring,” Serigny said.
The President’s Picnic was an experience for students to get comfortable with their classmates, faculty and President Genovese, as well as see the newly renovated Iberville for the first time as they entered the new school year.
