CSU Stanislaus opened the gates to Warrior Expo Oct. 22, welcoming prospective students to experience the campus. The Expo was a two-part event where the morning consisted of curious new faces roaming campus in overcast weather and a party for the students in the afternoon filled with inflatables, music, and fun prizes.

Check-in was located by Demergasso-Bava Hall and attendees worked their way toward the quad. The walkway was lined with booths manned by faculty, staff and students where clubs, student orgs and departments were all being represented that morning.

Dr. Alison McNally, Stan State geography professor, was representing the geography department.

“It’s awesome to get to speak to potential students and their families as well and get them excited about geography,” she said.

Events like the Warrior Expo allow prospective students to meet with their future instructors and get hyped for their college classes while clearing up misconceptions about college and increasing their understanding of courses before they take them.

That inspiration might come in the form of field trips or other activities, explained McNally.

“Folks don’t often know what geography is,” she said. “They think it’s memorizing places and names but we do all kinds of other things, so it’s really fun to ignite that enthusiasm in potential new students and their families.” 

Sometimes students need to see a direction for their future, which was the case for Delhi High School student Daniel Tafollalara.

“The event, it’s nice and I got like, I don’t know how many stickers,” he said.

When asked what the chances were that he would enroll at Stan State, he said there was a chance he’d be here.

Alejandro Bravo (junior, Agriculture), was in charge of the Agriculture department’s booth at the event.

“We had a lot of people interested in our ag program and we had a lot of FFA people asking questions,” he said.  

Having now spent time himself at Stan State, Bravo said he would highly encourage prospective students to consider the university. 

“Give it a shot,” he said. “I gave it a shot and I didn’t really think about coming here, but I saw the campus. It’s a very beautiful campus and the community around it is very nice.”

The morning session also had a student Q&A panel where attendees were able to ask questions to students currently attending Stan State.

Hailey Moreno (junior, Business Administration) was one of the students on the panel.

”People had interesting questions, like, questions I had as well my first year, like, how are the professors in business administration, since it’s like a big major here,” she said. 

Moreno added that some of the questions were also housing related, which is something she said she has experience with. 

Asking questions is always good, but sometimes taking a step back and relaxing for a bit is just as helpful. 

A line of students and families more than 100 people long had formed by noon, when the day’s fun activities got started.  

Iliana Alvarez (junior, Math), Stan State math club co-president, attended both parts of the event. She said it was neat to see people in the community come together who normally wouldn’t have a chance to see an inside perspective. 

“I think it kinda helps bridge that weird tenseness and stress of going to college because you get to see it’s not all stressful and there’s fun stuff to it,” she said. 

The expo was equipped with a variety of inflatable attractions like a boxing ring, a mechanical bull and a rope ladder game. There was something for everyone whether you felt like getting inked up with an airbrush tattoo, getting a caricature of yourself, or even getting crafty while listening to live music.

It wasn’t just inflatable attractions that were there to entertain the crowd. cornhole, giant Jenga and Connect Four, and a photo booth were also available for use.

A lot of attendees left the event with more swag than they came with as there were a lot of free prizes like hats, shirts, and stickers. People wearing Stan State sunglasses could also be spotted roaming the event.

Not all the attendees were human, as furry friends were also welcomed to attend, including a very spirited pitbull named Matisse Harrell.

Guadalupe Hernandez (freshman, Liberal Studies) enjoyed the afternoon session of the expo.

“I like the diversity in the booths, it’s not just all educational,” she said. “They have fun stuff and I feel that’s what attracts everyone.”

Esmeralda Macias Campos (freshman, Pre-Nursing) attended the event with Hernandez.

“Everything is very attracting to new students thinking of joining the school,” she said. “It’s very welcoming to them.”

Warrior Expo welcomed prospective students with open arms and gave them a taste of what the Stan State experience would be like. They not only got to see the campus, but meet the faculty who’d further their education.