New and returning students flooded College Green on Sunday afternoon to learn more about student organizations during the Involvement Fair. Despite poor weather conditions, many organizations were able to share more about themselves with students.
Even though student organizations are also displayed on BobcatConnect, the Involvement Fair provides a better opportunity for students to talk to members of these organizations in person.
With over 500 student organizations, there are clubs for all interests, including academics, religion, culture and identity, sports, the arts, social groups and more.
Riley Bowser, a freshman who is currently undecided, attended the Involvement Fair with the hope of finding people to connect with.
“I like looking around at the different opportunities around campus,” Bowser said.
Brandon Duktig, a second-year grad student studying geological and earth sciences and geosciences and president of the Geology Club, thought that the Involvement Fair was a great way for student organizations to provide information to prospective members.
“This has been a great opportunity to market our group,” Duktig said. “There have been so many people here who are interested, and otherwise we wouldn’t have been able to reach out to so many people.”
Being involved on campus is one way that many students try to make the most out of their college experience by meeting new people and potentially pursuing leadership positions within these organizations.
Alex Williams, a senior studying computer science, is a part of the National Society of Black Engineers, an engineering organization that works to provide members with professional and networking opportunities to learn and grow before they enter the workplace.
“When you come into college, you’re an incomplete human,” Williams said. “Your goal is to become more and more complete as you grow, and part of that is gaining a cultural experience.”
The pandemic changed many things, especially for student organizations that traditionally rely on meeting as a group and planning events together in person.
As the university begins to recover from the pandemic, a large part of that will be rebuilding student organizations.
“The pandemic was a punch to the face for a lot of organizations,” Williams said. “You had organizations that showed up last year with one member, or two or three, and we’re hoping to be able to grow back to what we were pre-pandemic and be able to gain resources to really do what our organization does.”
If you were unable to attend the Involvement Fair, check out BobcatConnect to learn more about Ohio University’s student organizations.
