There were plenty of smiles to go around when students pose with Santa and the Grinch at a holiday attraction hosted by the Business Club.
The Business Club, in conjunction with the School of Business, Campus Life and Student Association, welcomed Santa Claus for a campus visit in McEwen Hall in December.
School of Business Lecturer Mark Nickerson, who is faculty advisor of the Business Club, brought the idea of reaching out to jolly old St. Nick himself to the executive board of the Business Club and they took it from there. Club President Olivia Gates coordinated with the other members to get the event approved and funded by Campus Life and the Student Association, respectively.
The students took it upon themselves to pick out a nice backdrop for photos, obtain candy canes to be distributed and even acquire festive decorations to wear. Faculty members from the School of Business were on hand during the event to hand out candy canes to students passing by and encourage students to take a quick break from the stress of upcoming final exams to have their photo taken with Santa.
"There were smiles and laughter all around. The students all really seemed to enjoy it and so did the faculty,” said Ms. Gates, a senior Public Accountancy major from Jamestown.
"It was really just a way for the students to take things a little less seriously, even for a couple of minutes, with all of the stress they are under this time of year" Dr. Nickerson mentioned. The Grinch himself even stopped by and make an appearance for some photos with Santa, students, faculty and staff.
The Business Club and the School of Business already have plans to expand the event next year to reach more students and possibly even get a couple of Santa's reindeer to stop by with him.
