The St. Edward’s University Programming Board (UPB) provided students with the opportunity to attend the Texas State Fair in Dallas on Oct. 12. During the week of Sept. 30, UPB members tabled outside of Ragsdale Center to sell discounted tickets to the fair for just $20. Students who purchased tickets got a ride to and from Dallas, an admission ticket as well as snacks and refreshments provided by UPB for the trip.
This was the first time since 2018 that UPB was able to successfully organize a student trip to the State Fair – which was an effort to get student participation back on track after facing difficulties due to the COVID-19 pandemic. UPB Executive Director Zélie Alvernhe expressed her satisfaction with the amount of student interest shown in the event. Especially since additional tickets had to be acquired to meet the high student demand, greatly exceeding the original amount of tickets.
“At first we were only supposed to bring 56 students, but we sold 56 tickets on the first day so we decided to get a second bus,” Alvernhe said. “I think it ended up being 97 students during headcount, plus six UPB staff members, Ryann (Kuosman), who works at the Office of Development, and two (resident directors), so we were more than 100 people altogether.”
For a good number of students, it was their very first time attending the fair. International student and UPB event coordinator Khadiga Abdo expressed that it was an interesting experience for her, giving her a new first-hand insight into Texas.
“Even though I saw everything on the internet, it still looked really fun,” Abdo said. “Since I’m new to Texas and to the U.S., I’ve never been to any other fair. This is the first fair that I’ve ever been to, so it was really amazing, and it was really fun.”
The State Fair offers a multitude of attractions, making it unique and iconic to the Lone Star State, from the famous Big Tex to a variety of unique rides, games and vendors. The fair is also notorious for its carefully curated variety of award-winning foods to try. Junior Juan Guerrero, another first time fair-goer, stated his appreciation for the fair’s eccentric cuisine – such as the brisket macaroni and cheese bowl, cheesecake egg rolls or cookie butter nachos – and how it served as a big aspect of the fair’s culture.
”I thought it was gonna taste weird, but it’s amazing. I mean, everything there was deep fried, but it was good,” Guerrero said. “The food was inventive, but that’s what made it interesting.”
UPB decided to attend the fair as a way for any student at St. Edward’s –whether they are freshmen, upperclassmen, or international students — to have accessible opportunities to experience and make memories at such events. For Abdo, the success of this trip could be the starting point for related excursions and events in the future.
“I feel like it kind of brought a lot of the students together, and that’s what we’re looking for, that’s our goal,” Abdo said. “I feel like this trip kind of made them feel like St. Ed’s is fun, and you can do really fun stuff.”
