Approximately 25 student and faculty members of the Agricultural Department held a Meet and Greet at the Events Center of California State University, Stanislaus on Feb. 5.
The Meet and Greet was held from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. to allow students and instructors to get to know each other on a more personal level and establish relationships early in the semester.
Both the staff and students had time to get to know one another over various games including card games like Old Maid.  Heath Sousa, club president of the Agricultural Department, also took the opportunity to welcome students, especially those who were new to CSU Stanislaus. Sousa also took the opportunity, near the end of the gathering, to introduce the alumni who joined them for that evening.
Because of the often busy life of those who work in agricultural or farm-related jobs, many students don’t have much of an opportunity to get to know one another at CSU Stanislaus’ Agriculture department. It is because of this that the Meet and Greet takes place, allowing those of such busy lifestyles a chance to pause and get to know those with whom they would be working.
“On top of having to get to know our instructors, we also don’t get to really know each other that well,” Nina Ferretti of the Agriculture Department [Awaiting verification of this title] said. “The goal [of the Meet and Greet] is to build connections with each other because those are really important when you’re going out into the work world.
If you have that person who you have that networking connection with, then you can find a job a little bit more easily.”
The ultimate goal of the Meet and Greet was to establish networks that can help students further down the road.