Beginning this year, all freshmen students are required to be members of one of seven First-Year Interest Groups (FIGs) and each of these groups at Pace has their own lounge in Alumni Hall.

FIGs focus on a specific point of common interest among students, and their lounges have been made to reflect these interests and give each FIG a central hub on campus. While Pace has incorporated FIGs into residence halls over the past couple of years, there has never before been a building which has so carefully taken into account the desires of students and their personal interests.

Serious thought went into what the lounges will look and feel like, according to Theresa Cichetti, Director for Interior Design at Pace. In an email by Cichetti, she describes the creation of the lounges as a four step process beginning with “meeting with Residence Life to understand the functions and purpose of each FIG.” Revisions and style recommendations were then made between Residence Life staff and Cichetti’s department “to reflect each FIG’s unique goals and mission”.

The academic FIGs, for example present themselves as more professional, with tables and chairs for meetings and studying, while the athletic FIGs foster a relaxed environment where yoga and ping pong can be enjoyed.

Alyssa Caffarelli, one of the Residence Directors of Alumni Hall, claims that this dedication to detail in the FIGs was one of the aspects of Pace that encouraged her to apply for a job at the university.

“There were no FIGs at my school when I was in college and I was only first introduced to the topic in grad school,” Caffarelli said. “I was impressed with Pace’s dedication to the whole concept of FIGs and it made me excited to work with RAs who would be programming around their own particular areas of interest.”

Not all of the lounges are fully furnished yet, and Residence Life is aware of this. Despite every lounge being incomplete, the lounges are being actively used, said Jack Lu, a freshman in the Creating Entrepreneurial Opportunities (CEO) FIG.

“I’m in here about three times per week,” Lu said. “We mostly use the lounge for meetings and group study sessions, but some people bring in their gaming systems, so it’s also for hanging out”.

Students overall seem to be very supportive of FIGs.

According to statistics sent in an email from Director of Residence Life Alerie Tirsch, “89 [percent] of the first year residential students felt the FIG helped them to feel more connected to their residential community, and 84 [percent] felt that the FIG helped them to connect to the university as a whole”.

“It’s all about connectedness and community,” Tirsch said. “Each FIG has a home on campus because of these lounges, and we want students to use those spaces.”

Tirsch is hoping in particular that future programming will bring in more faculty members from the university so that students may be introduced to people they would not have had the opportunity to meet otherwise.

As for the future of FIGs, Tirsch says that the program is evolving.

“We’ll continue to assess the FIGs and students participation in them so that offerings are current and interesting,” said Tirsch, who is optimistic about the development of the program. “Based on feedback, the FIGs and the FIG lounges are doing what we hoped they’d do.”