Cazenovia College's Annual First Year Banquet, scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 15, at 5:30 p.m., celebrates first-year students' completion of the first semester of their college careers. The event also acknowledges the contributions of faculty and staff, including peer mentors, master students and resident advisors, all of whom have a role in helping first year students make the transition to college life.

A highlight of the event is an address by members of the first year class, reflecting upon their experiences as new freshmen at Cazenovia.

First year student speakers are nominated by their professors, and must audition for the privilege of speaking.

Leigha J. Burkhalter, of Massena, N.Y., an inclusive elementary education major; and Tom DeBernardis, of Utica, N.Y., who is majoring in communication studies, are the speakers for 2012.

The First Year Seminar course is a key element of the program, designed to help students bond with faculty members as instructors and mentors, and with fellow students who share common interests. New students register for a seminar course that most closely matches one of their interests, or their major course of study.

Burkhalter's First Year Seminar was "Freedom for the Thought We Hate": A History of the First Amendment, with Dr. John Robert Greene.

She says, "Dr. Greene is a fantastic professor who tries to focus on the student's educational experience. His First Year Seminar is a CLASS rather than a session where students talk about college experiences. The course was a little intimidating at first but in the end, it was a great way to start out my freshman year here at Caz."

Cazenovia College, founded in 1824, is an independent, co-educational, baccalaureate college near Syracuse, N.Y., offering a comprehensive liberal arts education in an exceptional community environment, with academic and co-curricular programs devoted to developing leaders in their professional fields.

Cazenovia, named one of "America's Best Colleges" by U.S. News & World Report, is also a national College of Distinction.

For more information, visit www.cazenovia.edu.