The Iowa State Event Management Office will host the Housing Fair from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday in the Great Hall of the Memorial Union. 

“[The Housing Fair’s] purpose is to connect students with various housing properties here in the Ames community so… they can make their decision a little bit easier as they’re trying to find somewhere to live for the upcoming school year,” said Memorial Union Event Planner and Graduate Student Ashley Snyder. 

There will be 24 vendors participating in this year’s fair, including the Grove at Ames, Union on Lincoln Way and the ISU Department of Residence.

“I think students should attend because it’s a great way to have face-to-face conversations with some of these housing properties and get to learn a little bit more about them and how they operate,” said Diego Bonilla, assistant event coordinator and senior majoring in event management. “Also for people to see firsthand how many options Iowa State students have here, so when it comes time to pick their housing option for next school year they have a better idea of what that looks like.” 

Iowa State’s first Housing Fair was held last year, which makes this year’s fair the second occurrence of the event. Snyder and Bonilla are hoping for another great turnout this year and are planning to continue growing and building the program.

“We’re trying to make it an annual event,” Snyder said. “Last year we had it in November, and we realized we missed some of those leasing windows. We moved it up to September this year to try to catch students before they’re signing those leases, so we’re hoping to have it around September every year.” 

Housing contracts for the 2022-23 year are now available through the Iowa State Department of Residence, so many students are already looking at housing options for the next academic year. Finding the right fit can be tedious and confusing, especially when the next contract cycle is still several months away. However, the Housing Fair simplifies the process by bringing a majority of students’ options and resources into one space. 

“We work with students here in the office and we work with a lot of student programs through the Student Engagement office, and we just realized that it’s something students were looking for,” Snyder said. “There was no central location and place for all these companies to come together and for students to get to meet multiple options at once, so we realized this was an opportunity we could hone in on.”

The event will be free to all Iowa State students, and many of the vendors will be giving away prizes and giveaways to those who attend. 

More information about the Housing Fair can be found on the Student Engagement website.