The 2013-2014 school year is in its final weeks and has shown to be a stepping stone year for bigger and better things for California Baptist University.
This year featured tremendous growth for the campus and community through the enhancing of traditional events and the building of departments, and one can only look forward to where the campus will be this time next year.
Trent Ward, junior marketing major and Associated Students of CBU president, took to his role with specific goals in mind. Through his time and leadership role in ASCBU, he said he hoped to “make a stronger foundation for years to come.”
Specifically, his team sought to activate the students’ voice and brand ASCBU through “being more identifiable, more attractive to students and to engage in application.”
Branding was not only unique to ASCBU, as the Athletics Department pursued the branding of “Lance Up” through giveaways and spirited rallies at home games.
Men’s basketball and baseball hit huge strides in winning streaks and were hugely supported by students.
Offices such as Campus Life, Community Life and Residence Life continued to renovate traditional events by seeking greater impacts in attendance as well as investing more in entertainment.
Community growth skyrocketed through the Coffeehouse series this semester, as well as through other department happenings such as the Holi Festival of Color and Mob the Nations.
This year has produced a plethora of highlights, one of Ward’s more memorable being the Serve Day during New Student Orientation, where every department came together and went out to the Riverside community to serve various venues.
“In a macro standpoint, coming into the CBU community can change your life,” Ward said.
Ward said he hopes the coming school year, his second term as president, will consist of more projects that push to be more service-orientated, as well as addressing the large problems on campus by working with students to fix the issues they see.
Students can look forward to new living areas, new food options, and new office space that will be accompanying a new front entrance of the school.
This year showed growth in enrollment size causing a ripple effect of an expanding university. Yet, next year the CBU community will be able to see the products of this year’s construction in both the anticipated obvious and the subtle Lancer pride ways.
