Taste of CoLA | Photo by Bethany Althauser | The Wright State Guardian
As part of Wright State’s Family Weekend on Sept. 22, students gathered around to taste a wide variety of soda flavors while learning about the different College of Liberal Arts programs.
Family, friends and students alike were able to experiment with unique soda flavors compared to the traditional Coke or Pepsi.
Available options included Warheads-flavored sodas, which were just as sour as the candy, Peep-flavored Pepsi, Kosher Zero-Sugar Cherry Vanilla Coke and even mustard. The blue raspberry and green apple Warheads tied for best tasting, and attendees voted the mustard-flavored soda the worst.
Although the quirky sodas acted as the main attraction of the event, the real intent was to educate individuals on COLA.
Director of Enrollment Management and Community Engagement Becca Webb discussed possible misconceptions that some may have about COLA, which is not just about dance, theater and politics.
“It’s liberal in terms of freedom. Liberal arts is the study of freedom or the ability to be free. All of our majors are the ways to kind of develop yourself to learn the world, to be able to interact with the world and the diverse populations. They’re [available] to further yourself as a person, as an individual, as a student,” Webb said.
Dean of COLA Gary Schmidt described the students that COLA may suit.
“The COLA program is good for any student I’d say, but I think in particular students who enjoy learning, have a passion about learning that may not be related to a particular career goal. We can help those students find career goals and show them how their passion, whether it be about the arts or about literature or languages or politics, how we can help them connect that to a particular career,” Schmidt said.
Schmidt explained that the COLA program would be a great opportunity for those students still considering their options, as the college can prepare any student for a lifetime of learning and career success.
The dean also talked about the basic skills taught, such as communication, writing, critical thinking, respect, understanding of diversity and global awareness. These skills will be crucial for any career at any point in time.
“Liberal arts students may take an extra year or two to sort of find their first job maybe, but in the long run, they’re going to advance more quickly, and they’re going to have more career satisfaction because they are not just learning for only one specific job,” Schmidt said. “They’re learning for a whole lifetime of a career.”
For more information about COLA, visit the college’s website.
