Hi, my name is Maria Chodnicki and I am the secretary of the Michigan State University College of Arts and Letters Student Council. We are a very new club, as we were founded just last year! Our mission is to “serve as a liaison between College of Arts and Letters students and faculty to improve students’ academic and professional experience through fostering dialogues and expanding their network of peers. CAL Student Council is dedicated to creating a voice for liberal arts students at Michigan State University.” To sum it up, we strive to provide events and resources to meet faculty members, as well as fellow CAL students to create connections and resources to enhance our student’s overall college experience here at MSU.
Last year, we organized our council into three different committees. They consisted of public relations, college connections and event planning. I happened to be the chair member of the public relations committee. My responsibilities were to create flyers for events, logos and apparel ideas, manage our social media accounts, and whatever else may have been needed as far as design goes. For example, one of our events we held around the time of final exams was known as our “final relaxer” event. This was an opportunity to come enjoy cookies, coffee, hot chocolate, coloring, and therapy dogs and ultimately destress from the chaos of our busy exam period. It is a great chance to meet other CAL students who share similar interests as you and you may even find yourself a new study buddy!
This year, I am extra excited for it! We have a super creative and energetic bunch of students with fantastic new ideas to implement into our college. Some of these ideas we are working hard to make possible are mentorship programs for upper-classman students to lower-classman students, as well as student to alumni mentorship programs. Both of these programs would be great resources to have as far as asking questions and getting a better sense for what you may end up doing with your major/minor.
I highly encourage everyone to follow our Instagram @msucalstuco to be informed on upcoming events in the college, meet our council members, and even participate in polls because ultimately, your voice matters and we want to hear your input and ideas to make our college the most helpful and resourceful for you!