Central Arizona College community comes together again once again for its annual Palooza. One of the largest in numbers compared to previous years, the atmosphere crackled with energy. College and high school students alike were in attendance. A’viands, the company that provides food for CAC’s cafes and cafeteria, catered the event. Miele Entertainment provided music and the photo booth; a company owned by former CAC student and Cactus writer, Jacob Miele.   Like every Palooza, clubs [such as STEM and TRIO], organizations [including Phi Theta Kappa], college divisions, and universities were center stage.

CAC’s Student Leadership Organization has interesting plans for the upcoming months. If you are unaware, SLO is in charge of planning activities for the college. Think of them as the college equivalent to student council. October is domestic violence awareness month, so at this moment, SLO is trying to raise students’ awareness of domestic violence. Kris Mejia, SLO’s correspondent coordinator, mentions some of their plans also include a fall festival in November and a possible prom in the spring. “Second Chance Prom,” Jonathan Holland, SLO’ special events coordinator, affectionately calls it. It offers students who may have not gone to prom a chance to experience it. If you would like to learn more about SLO, find them on Facebook @CACSPCSLO.

Of the more crowded booths was CAC’s Graphic Design Club. GDC strives to create an environment that helps students express their creativity through graphic design. GDC also provides services such as logo design, poster design, illustrations and many more. Amongst their flyers were quality prints for sale; one of the club’s member, Quinton Prunty was caricaturing students as well. All profits made will be going towards fundraising the club’s end of the year field trip [for graduating members] to New York City. While in NYC, the club plans to visit sites such as the Met, the Museum of Modern Art, to enlighten their skills. With the Palooza alone, they were able to raise over $100. If you would like to help, you can donate to their GOFUNDME page @CACGRAPHICDESIGN, commission the club for work, or like and share them on Facebook @CACGRAPHICDESIGN.

Although the International Studies booth had less attendees, the information provided is worth looking into. The booth was there to promote CAC’s study abroad opportunities. The upcoming spring semester is offering several trips students can apply for. For many years, CAC and Northeastern University in Shenyang, China have exchanged two students from each school every year for a semester long immersion trip where students will live and study. CAC also offers smaller immersion trips to Mexico to learn Spanish. During spring break, students have the chance to study abroad in Bundoran, Ireland with Prof. Hindhede or Seville, Spain with Prof. Owen.  Either way, these trips offer students the chance to explore these countries and fully experience their culture. The trips’ prices, specifically to Ireland and Spain, are relatively low, and an added bonus is financial aid can be used to help pay for the trip. If you do choose financial aid, you will need to enroll in LIT 206, World Literature, or SPA 101, 102, 201. While you can sign up next semester, the International Exchange program would like to have participants signed up by December 20^th. If you are interested in participating in the program, please contact Sherrie Licon at [email protected] or at 480-677-7838.

While I didn’t speak with everyone at the Palooza, one thing is certain: this has been one of the more successful Paloozas in years. The purpose of these events is to inform the students that this is what CAC has to offer as well as give students the opportunity to speak to different universities and organizations. Hopefully, the Palooza has been a positive experience for incoming and current CAC students and will continue to be.

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