Zauyah Waite, Vice President of Student Affairs and Dean of Students, always finds ways to reach to her students. She said their goal is to, “let them know that [we] are glad that they are here at Chatham University.”

This time the recognition and appreciation Student Affairs is showing to students is by inviting them over to the Carriage House to pick up some treats for their birthdays. “What happens is that once a month we send an email to students who have birthdays all throughout this specific month, and we say that this is our time to recognize all of these birthdays, and ask them to come and pick up their treats” said Kathleen Ayers, Executive Secretary to Dean Waite. According to Ayers, it is also a way to get new students to come to the Carriage House and meet the people in the Student Affairs Office who they do not always get to see.

Students’ birthdays have not been celebrated by Student Affairs before. However, according to Dean Waite, every year she finds a way to reach out to students. In the past, for example, she has had a series of activities, such as Dine with the Deans, Tea with the Deans, and last semester she facilitated a few activities in the residence halls.

The Student Affairs Office normally plans the activities for each semester beforehand, and last semester was when Dean Waite came up with the idea, in preparation for this semester. This makes February 20 the second Birthday Special of the semester, after the January birthdays being celebrated on January 16.

The treats for January were Soft Pretzels from The Pretzel Shop on the Southside, while the treats for this month were cookies from Nancy B’s. “It’s also a way of trying to highlight some of the good snacks and treats that Pittsburgh has to offer” said Ayers.

The Birthday Special is a “first come first serve” kind of operation. The students come in and pick up their treats depending on their schedule. The email goes out in the morning around 9 AM, so they are made aware of it the same day in a personal invite email, in addition to the previous advertisement usually put on MyChatham Happenings and the student calendar.

The treats were picked up from the front desk at the Carriage House from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on February 20 by about 10 students.

“The New Birthday Special activity is a small way for us to celebrate our students on their special day and we will be doing this for the entire year of 2014” said Dean Waite.