The rhythmic shuffle of cards resonates through the air. Seated around the flashing colored tables, students exchange glances as they await the dealer’s next move. The space is filled with vibrant hues as a result of the strobe lights. Prizes lined up on the right hand side of the room and a buffet on the left side, with a DJ and dance floor set up perfectly. Fitchburg State University’s student development organization hosted a very successful casino night.
Fitchburg States casino night was hosted by Director of Alumni Family Relations, Tanya Hoos Crowley, and Associate Director of Student Development, Shane Franzen. The Co Chairs of Homecoming worked together to create an environment where students and professors could share a social scene that wasn’t a classroom.
Shane Franzen states “We have students, faculty and staff that are all dealers, so it’s a great way for our students to get to see somebody else that they wouldn’t normally get to see. It’s a great way for our faculty to see students in a different light also, and vice versa. This is a great way to bring them together, to have them dance together, to eat together, to play games together. We try to build a family, and these activities and events are the ways to do it.”
Not only were students and professors able to come together, but alumni also came to reconnect with each other. Founders of Phi Sigma Sigma sorority returned to Fitchburg State University for the Homecoming festivities. Alumni class of 1992 and 1993 Nanciann Ryer, Diana Guaglione, Maryellen Starble, and Pam Deveny havent seen eachother in over twenty five years and had planned to connect at the casino night.
“Tonight was a really great turn out. It was so nice to see all of the changes here at Fitchburg State. When we were here it was still a college so it’s really awesome to see where the university is at now,” said Nanciann Ryer.
The casino night offered so many prizes such as a television, a personal washing machine, a mountain bike, a five-foot bean bag chair, and much more. According to Tonya Crawey, students had a variety of prizes to win, her personal favorite being the forty pound bag of marshmallows.
Freshman Dom Freeman came to the casino night to support his friend who was a blackjack dealer that night.
“Blackjack is my favorite because it’s the game that I’m most familiar with. I feel like the casino night brought everyone together. It brings the alumni back and with the staff being here it gives them all a chance to interact with each other more and students can see how everyone is outside of school,” Freeman states.
Fitchburg State University’s student development organization hosted a very successful casino night. Students, staff, and alumni were able to connect in a setting outside the classroom and inside the casino.
