First annual Mascot Challenge launched

Meeting new friends and feeling part of a new community can make a student’s first weeks at university a daunting challenge. Luckily for Concordia undergraduates just joining the Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science, a special first year director is here to smooth the way.

Nancy Acemian, a lecturer in the Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering, has long felt that something more must be done to ensure that students in their first year don’t fall through the cracks.

“When my son first started school right here at Concordia,” recalls Acemian, “he would come home saying, ‘Mum! I don’t know where to go or what to do…’ and I realized that we as faculty members needed to provide greater support to new students in order to make the beginning of their time at Concordia a positive experience — and, in so doing, to help ensure that their time here is successful!”

And so the first annual Mascot Challenge was born. Trying to think up an event that would bring students together in a social setting while fostering school spirit, Acemian came up with the idea of building a mascot using discarded computer equipment.

The first installation of the Mascot Challenge is only open to first-year Computer Science and Software Engineering undergraduates, but Acemian hopes it will be successful enough to be expanded to include other departments in the Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science in the years to come.

The Mascot Challenge will be held in the lobby of the EV Building the morning of Friday, September 23. For more information and to register, please contact Nancy Acemian by email at nacemian@encs.concordia.ca.

Related Links:
•    Concordia Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science
•    Concordia Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering
•    More about professor Acemian