Super Saturday was hosted on campus on Oct. 28, and events such as the Family Cookout were put on to highlight the services and resources at Fresno State for K-12 students and their families.
The 2023 Super Saturday: Black College and Career Summit was established to bring Black community members and K-12 students to campus to learn about higher education pathways.
D’Aungillique Jackson, one of the event coordinators, said that Super Saturday is already shaping up to be a historical event.
“It’s an honor for us to make this event possible. It really is the best job at Fresno State to be able to plan this event,” Jackson said. “So of course, we’ll continue to do this every year. On the Saturday of Homecoming, or that weekend of Homecoming, we host this event as a way to bring the community together and help them to envision what their futures can be.”
It is the fifth year for Super Saturday, and the first semester without Wendy Nelson running the event after retiring this August.
Sade Johnson, another one of the event coordinators, is the program director of the Black Student Success Initiative, an initiative that launched this year focused on centralizing Black student support by working with the Office of Black Student Success. Both the BSSI and OBSS were hosts of the Super Saturday event.
“Super Saturday was amazing,” Johnson said. “We had a good turnout and actually what I loved about this year is that we had good support from Fresno State. We also had a good representation of schools that haven’t come before. We decided to reach out to more rural schools and they were able to come.”
Schools from Hanford, Madera and Fresno were some examples of the Central Valley community members in attendance at the event.
Super Saturday was campus-wide as various university departments helped to provide resources during the event.
Working with the campus’ art department, the Phebe Conley Art Building opened its doors to host ceramics and painting sessions. The Jordan College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology donated pumpkins for those in attendance to paint.
Attendees made strawberry ice cream and Hashtag Balance, a local yoga studio, held yoga sessions on the campus lawn.
Kent Willis, vice president of the Division of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management, and Rashanda Booker, inaugural university diversity officer of the Division of Equity and Engagement, thanked the students and community members for coming. Sodas were donated by the Amendola Family Student Cupboard, and food was provided by Kocky’s Bar & Grill.
Michael Smith and James O’Donnell, both Fresno State alumni, opened Kocky’s Bar & Grill after graduating with marketing degrees on campus and returned to the school to provide food from the restaurant for Super Saturday’s activities.
“It’s always good to give back to the community you once served and were a part of,” Smith said. “We graduated from here and we’re African Americans, so it was good to see that the Black students at Fresno State are still thriving and we’re glad to be a part of it.”
The Black Excellence in Science and Technology, a Fresno State student organization was also present at the event and helped with connecting community members to the resources that were available.
Aleyah Glasper, an attendee, said that the event was a great way to network at a young age.
“I think those that have never actually seen that they can have a higher education, because they’re younger, have a way of seeing us represent,” Glasper said.
Super Saturday is an annual event and further plans to incorporate the clubs and organizations involved for another event in the Spring semester are currently being considered.
