A Day in the Life as a Lion

On Wednesday, April 16th, juniors and seniors in high school were able to experience life as a lion through the event that is Den Day. The University of Arkansas - Fort Smith (UAFS) welcomed an estimated number of 520 students. This marked the highest total for a Spring Den Day in UAFS history!

            Den Day allows future lions to speak with current UAFS students, professors, and tour different buildings on campus, including the Lion’s Den, which could possibly be their future home. They are able to gain knowledge and access to the different student resources the university has to offer. After a morning full of events, they are able to eat lunch with future peers and their families.

            Some highlights of this day included scholarship contests, a performance by the Jazz Catz, the Puppies and Positivity with the Gamma Phi Beta event, and multiple major mixers! By completing the checklist on the back of the handout, students were able to compete for $500 scholarships. Throughout the day, they had to complete these tasks in order to be eligible.

After welcome announcements were done by the UAFS Chancellor, Terisa Riley, and highly involved UAFS student, Vince Phetchareun, the Jazz Catz performed and gave future lions who are interested in music a look at where they could be in the following years. Campus tours also gave students the opportunity to see what other programs are offered.

Students were able to meet with professors of different departments, such as business, psychology, nursing, English, and social sciences, just to name a few. This allowed them to get insight into the classes they could be taking, along with gaining an understanding of what it is they would like to pursue after high school graduation.

Not only were professors and faculty heavily involved in Den Day, but current students as well. Being on a college campus can be a scary feeling, but UAFS students made future lions more comfortable by meeting and talking to them about their own experiences at the university.

Den Day is not only a highly anticipated event for future students but also current ones as well. It brings light and warmth to the campus when students are reminded of when they were once in the shoes of the juniors and seniors, and shows how far they have come while being a part of UAFS.