Open house: treats and tours

Concordia rolled out the burgundy and gold carpet for nearly 3,000 prospective students on Jan. 28.

“A lot of them come with specific questions in mind. Many know what program they want to apply to at Concordia, and simply come to get more information,” said Pina Greco, Manager of Operations and Special Projects in the Recruitment Office.

Most departments across all four faculties take part in the annual day-long Open House. It’s an opportunity to meet their future students and give them a taste of what their studies will be like.

The Chemistry Department took this literally, and whipped up some special ice cream for the occasion. Batches were made to order and frozen in seconds using liquid nitrogen, instead of the traditional more time and energy consuming method.

Guests also had close encounters with creatures from the Department of Biology’s mena-gerie (see photo below left) and the opportunity to attend a seminar at the Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema, among other attractions.

Tours were given of the McConnell (library) Building, the GM Building, home to the John Molson School of Business, as well as the gleaming new Richard J. Renaud Science Complex and the Integrated Engineering, Computer Science and Visual Arts Complex.

Although the visitors got acquainted with Concordia, they didn’t get to experience a typical winter’s day in Montreal, Greco said. “It was clear, bright, and there wasn’t a falling snowflake in sight!”

The entire event was webcast live, and can be viewed on News@Concordia. “We keep it up for a couple of weeks afterwards so it continues to be accessible. We want to give as many people as possible the opportunity to see it.”