This past Saturday, the Kremen School of Education and Human Development hosted its first-ever open house event in front of the Education Building in accordance with Fresno State Homecoming.

The goal of the event was to inform adults and future students in the community of the opportunities Fresno State provides and to help get the people in attendance more familiar with the university.

“Part of the event is starting young and getting kids to become comfortable and familiar with the Fresno State campus,” said interim dean of the Kremen School of Education and Human Development Laura Alamillo. “My philosophy is that this is their campus … and we’re just trying to continue that [philosophy].”

There were more than 20 tables providing information about clubs and organizations, community partners and Fresno State programs and resources, which included the Fresno Family Counseling Center and San Joaquin Valley Writing Project.

The event at the Education Building was one of many events taking place on campus in celebration of the university’s Homecoming and with hundreds of people already on campus, it helped attract more attention to the Kremen School.

“We wanted to be a part of the Homecoming event, so we thought it was a good opportunity to publicize the programs that come out of the Kremen School,” Alamillo said. “The focus was to make it a family and child-friendly event.”

The children who attended the event were treated to a multitude of activities, including bounce houses, STEM-related booths, photo opportunities with the Fresno State mascot Timeout and free popcorn and cotton candy for attendees.

Many of the organizations that were tabling at the event had child-orientated arts and crafts activities for those who stopped by.

Alamillo hopes to hold more events like the open house to promote the university and the Kremen School in the near future.

“I am committed to continuing this as long as our faculty and our staff are willing to spend their Saturday to do this type of work,” Alamillo said.