By: Mackenzie Byerlee
Features Editor
Students enjoyed free gifts, pizza and fun drinks at the “Sanrio Soiree” in Adanti Student Center Room 217 on Nov. 4.
The Programs Council daytime committee held this event for students to bond over their shared interest of the Sanrio company. Health science major Christae Cassamajor, a junior and senior programmer, had the opportunity to execute this event.
“Ultimately, the goal was to create a fun, welcoming environment where students could connect over something that we all know and love,” Cassamajor said.
The event started off with a quick presentation in which the daytime programmers introduced themselves and ProCon’s mission overall.
This gave students a better understanding of not only the event that they were attending, but also more that they could enjoy in the future.
Students were then encouraged to make their own Sanrio inspired gift bags. This included the bags themselves, slime and notebooks. All were themed after the beloved franchise.
Elementary education major Mia Cruz, a sophomore, shared that she enjoyed all that the event had to offer.
“I enjoyed seeing Hello Kitty on campus and I love seeing the amount of people that love Hello Kitty,” Cruz said.
Feeling seen and understood is a big reason that ProCon holds events that students with a variety of interests would enjoy.
Cassamajor shared that this was not the first Hello Kitty related event that ProCon has put on. However, it still differed from other years.
“The biggest change this time around was expanding the focus beyond just Hello Kitty to include the entire Sanrio franchise,” Cassamajor said. “We wanted to highlight other fan-favorite characters like Kuromi, My Melody, Pompompurin, Cinnamoroll and so many others.”
While Hello Kitty may be what Sanrio is most known for, showcasing more of their characters and appealing to the interests of more students was a big goal for Cassamajor and the other daytime programmers.
The event also had pizza, cupcakes and drinks made with sprite and strawberry syrup for students to grab.
For students such as health science major Hannah Dayton, a senior, this was an opportunity to take a break during her busy day.
“I was hoping to get some cute stuff and a little break from my classes,” Dayton said. “I had an exam today so I needed some decompression.”
Events like these serve as a reminder that all students deserve a break. Being able to stop by, grab some food and make a gift bag is a simple but effective way to get students involved and doing something fun.
“Sometimes it’s the smaller, lighthearted events that bring people together,” Cassamajor said. “I want people to feel like they have a place where they can come together, express themselves, meet others and simply enjoy the things that make them happy.”
