With COVID-19 forcing Pace to operate entirely online, the university had to get creative in order to host its annual Pace Bound event for accepted students.

On Saturday March 28, Pace Bound took place through a Zoom call, with over 100 prospective students in attendance. There were welcome addresses from President Marvin Krislov and Assistant VP of Undergraduate Education Dr. Susan Maxam, two student speakers, a student panel, and a virtual tour given by three tour guides. Attendees were also able to ask admissions counselors and representatives from Residential Life questions using Zoom’s chat feature.

According to Nicole Salimbene, Pace’s Director of Transfer Enrollment, the Visitor Experience and Undergraduate Admissions, it was important to find a way to host this event so that prospective students could get engaged, connected and excited about what Pace has to offer. Prior to the campus partial closure, the New York City campus was able to host one of their Pace Bound events. However, none of Pleasantville’s scheduled events had occurred yet. Those in charge of Pace Bound had to re-tailor the event to function through a virtual platform so that the incoming class could still get a sense of Pace in what Salimbene called “the most effective way we could come up with.”

Salimbene admits that it would have been ideal to be able to host Pace Bound in person to better showcase Pace’s facilities and forge face-to-face connections. However, she also said that there was an upside to using Zoom; students who normally would have been shy to ask questions in front of the crowd felt more comfortable typing their questions into the chat. She considered the event to be successful in bringing the Pace Bound experience to people who otherwise would not be able to have it.

“It’s important as we’re all navigating through this challenging time to still be committed to both our current and prospective students,” Salimbene said. “We want to bring in an excited new class. The energy for this quick turnaround has been incredible, and the current students who were involved in it have been so positive.”

Gabrielle Iannucelli, a senior mass communications major, was one such student. She shared her four-year Pace Path journey with the attendees, including her application process, her experiences as a commuter, her time in the Setters Leadership Program, her involvement with SDCA, the friends she made, the support she received from her professors and her recent internship with HBO.

While Iannucelli agrees with Salimbene that having the event in person creates a deeper connective feel, she also agrees that the online version was still effective. She believes that she and her fellow student presenters were able to let their Setter spirit shine, even at a distance, and that their stories gave the attendees something that they could relate to. She also said that simply being willing to continue with the event despite not being able to meet in person shows a great level of dedication from the university.

“If it were me, I know that we’d be blown away at the fact that Pace is still keeping it going,” Iannucelli said. “This has been such an adjustment for all of us, and the fact that we were still able to engage with one another is such a selling point. A lot of time and energy went into getting this done and getting it organized, and it shows that this community is there for everyone.”

Pace Pleasantville’s second Pace Bound event will also take place via Zoom on April 19. It will feature most of the same content as March 28’s event but it will also include a speech from the Dean of Admissions and conversations about athletics and recreational sports.

In addition to Pace Bound, Pace has offered several other virtual connection opportunities. Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems hosted their special interest tour online on April 8. Lubin School of Business hosted theirs on April 11. Lienhard School of Nursing will host a video conference on April 21 at 7:00 PM EST, and future health science majors can attend a video conference on April 23 at the same time.

Students looking for more ways to explore Pace can take a look at https://www.pace.edu/stay-connected-to-pace, where they will find video tours, virtual transfer and international student events, access to virtual appointments with undergraduate admissions counselors, and a recording of March 28 Pace Bound event.