Hosted by ZipAssist, Sophomore Celebration Week will include multiple events and activities to remind students of on-campus resources, to celebrate the halfway point of college and allow students to connect with one another.

Sophomore Hannah Crawford, a Political Science major, was excited to hear about the week-long celebration because it allows students to come together as a grade.

“Since we all are divided by our majors, it’s not often we get to come together as one whole,” Crawford said. “So it is exciting to unite as Akron Zips.”

The main goal for Sophomore Celebration Week is to honor students who are halfway through their programs and to help them find any resources necessary for the path to graduation, Taylor Ridenour, Coordinator of Outreach at ZipAssist, said.

“A goal of mine this year was to be intentional about our programs, so we weren’t having programs just for the sake of having them; to just have purpose behind them,” Ridenour said.

The week-long celebration begins on Monday with the “Breakfast of Champions” in the first-floor lobby of Simmons Hall. Free coffee, bagels, doughnuts and more will be available from 9 a.m. to noon.

Then, ZipAssist will be hosting “SophoMORE Goals” in the Student Union Concourse where students are encouraged to write down goals for themselves as they continue their college education.

Tuesday’s events include two activities for Sophomore Service Day, “Habitat for Humanity Summit County” and dog toy making. The “Habitat for Humanity” event requires prior registration and starts at 8:30 a.m. with check-in at the Student Union Commuter Lounge.

Then, there will be an empowerment fair in the Student Union Trapezoid Lounge. Later, students will get a chance to tie-dye “Class of 2020” shirts in the first floor lobby of Simmons Hall.

On Wednesday, students can attend a resource fair from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Student Union Trapezoid & Piano Lounges or the Etiquette Dinner at 5 p.m on the third-floor of the Student Union. The $5 registration for this event is due by April 9.

For Thursday, ZipAssist will be hosting an Experiential Learning Fair from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Student Union Piano Lounge. Students will get a chance to learn about internships, study abroad opportunities and more. Also, a “Grilled Cheese & Registration Soup” will take place in Rob’s Café from 11:45 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Sophomore Celebration Week will end with the “Halfway There Celebration” in the first floor lobby of Simmons Hall from noon to 3 p.m.

“I think the ‘Halfway There Celebration’ is always fun,” Ridenour said. “We’ll have Zippy here, there’s pizza and fun food. We’ll have games, like cornhole, for students to hang out.”

Sophomore Natalie Bode, an AYA Language Arts major, believes the week-long celebration is a great idea in order to bring students together in order to discuss the path towards graduation.

ZipAssist will also be raffling off a Kindle E-reader at the end of Sophomore Celebration Week. The winner will be announced during the Halfway There Celebration.

According to the ZipAssist website, “To be entered into the drawing, sophomore students simply stop at a table at one of our events with your student Zip Card. We’ll swipe your Zip Card at each event you attend. Every swipe is an entry to win.”

Click here for a full description of the events and activities during Sophomore Celebration Week.