MARCH 26, 2022

On Saturday, March 26, Florida A&M University (FAMU) National Alumni Association (NAA) Florida Region chapters sponsored bus trips to Tallahassee with over one thousand student prospects to attend FAMU's restart of its annual Spring Preview. Students from thirty (30) Florida counties visited Tallahassee for the recruitment event. The recruitment event was held from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Lawson Multipurpose Center, and featured President Larry Robinson, Ph.D., Vice President for Student Affairs William E. Hudson Jr., Ph.D., Florida Region Vice President William Youmans, Chapter Presidents and Chapter Recruitment Chairpersons, other support administrators, and student leaders as well as the FAMU Connection troupe.  

“We were ecstatic to plan bus trips to the Preview again. It was an exciting time for prospective students to visit campus, meet faculty and staff, and visit the facilities,” Florida Region Vice President William Youmans said. “An added bonus was the renowned ‘Be Out Day’ where current students mingled with potential students. This is the ultimate representation of the FAMUly experience as alumni are also intimately involved.”

Registrants included high school and community college students from South Florida, Fort Pierce, Tampa, Orlando, Daytona Beach, Jacksonville, Gainesville, and counties in the Florida panhandle. While on campus, students visited their schools and colleges of interest. There were also workshops to provide information about admissions, academic vigor courses for various majors, scholarship availability, financial aid, and housing.

Students were looking for an introduction to FAMU campus life, and the Student Government Administration (SGA) hosted “Be Out Day,” a popular spring social ritual on the Football Practice Field. During last weekend's Miami-Dade Chapter “Be Out Day,” Alumni and Student National Alumni Association (SNAA) members kicked off their version of the annual rite on Miami Beach.

Region VP Youmans said, "When I was a student in the 90s, the original Be Out Day was a coming together of Rattlers in only ways that a tight bonded family would do. To my time as Orlando alumni chapter president before the pandemic, alumni and students looked forward to Be Out Day and enjoyed themselves on the day of. After the COVID pandemic, the Florida chapters were intent on planning bus trips after being suspended from in-person activities and I am proud that each chapter brought student potentials to FAMU to experience the campus and things that are unique to FAMU on the day of the event."

Volusia County Chapter sponsored a bus for Daytona Beach student potentials. Rattler President Rakinya Hinson said "This was awesome! Having the student tour guides gave future students the opportunity to ask questions and receive responses about real experiences of life on The Hill."

A student from NeoCity Academy in Kissimmee, Florida expressed her experience today, "Due to global circumstances college information has all been through a screen with little to no real connection with the campus. At spring preview, I was finally able to step foot and learn not just about the academics but also student life. Today I really felt like I was a part of FAMUly."

A High School Senior at DeLand High School shared their Spring Preview experience "My focus in life is to be successful, at FAMU all of my questions were answered, and it really felt like home. I gathered a lot of information while having fun also. It was truly a welcoming experience."

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