The Student Involvement Fair returned to the KSC campus on Friday, Sept. 5, this time with a bouncy new addition.
The annual fall event is a staple that brings student organizations, campus departments and community partners of KSC directly to the students, with organization tables lining Appian Way in an effort to build connections with other students.
KSC Coordinator of Student Organizations and Leadership Keri Lewis said there were 57 groups in total who participated in tabling at the fair, including student organizations, campus departments and community partners.
Lewis explained the importance of the involvement fair by explaining the potential benefits of getting involved on campus.
“Students that are involved on campus are more likely to be successful students. There’s actually research that shows that students who are involved usually have better time management skills. They actually do better in their classes. There’s so many benefits for a student being involved on a campus,” Lewis said. “It’s just another way to give our clubs and organizations and campus departments the opportunity to get out in front of students to show them all the different ways they can get connected on campus.”
Lewis said she hoped that students who attended the event were able to make personal connections with groups of people on campus who have similar interests to them.
“I also hope it inspires students if they don’t see a club or organization that really fits what they’re looking for. I hope it inspires them to go through the pathway to create a new student org,” Lewis added.
One of the new additions at the involvement fair that made this year’s event unique was a group of carnival-style bungee jumping trampolines, courtesy of the Social Activities Council (SAC).
Senior Kerrin Shea, president of SAC, said this is the first time the organization has brought something like this to the involvement fair and that it served as a representation of what SAC brings to campus throughout the year.
“Typically for student involvement fair, we just table and we do our little giveaways, which we’re still having,” Shea said. “But we wanted to do something fun that shows more of who we are as an organization and to promote the type of events that we do.”
“Bungee jumping is part of an event that we will have next Friday [September 12], which is our Fall Festival,” Shea continued. “We’ll have a live artist, a bunch of people from Vertical Entertainment with an 80-foot obstacle course, a mechanical bull, a rock wall, a bunch of events and free food for all students, as well as some t-shirt giveaways and regular giveaways as well.”
Shea mentioned that students interested in joining SAC should consider doing so if they enjoy planning events.
“If you are someone who likes to get involved, likes to plan things, and genuinely just enjoys being a part of something and you like serving something bigger than your own, this is the place for you. We’re happy to take all ideas and if there’s something you want on campus that we don’t offer, that’s where we come in. We’ll try and do it. We’ll make it work,” Shea said.
Another student organization that participated in tabling at the event was the Jewish Student Union. Sophomore Rae Gordon, president of the organization, spoke about why it is important to get out and table at events like the involvement fair.
“It’s really important for getting more members and just getting traction and to have another welcoming space on campus. I honestly love doing it because I love seeing all the faces that come out on campus,” Gordon said.
Gordon also explained why students should consider joining Jewish Student Union.
“We are a really chill environment and it’s just another space to feel safe on campus, but not only that, it’s a place where you can learn about Jewish culture and our experiences with Judaism and have fun,” she said.
First-year students Cordelia James, Allison Merkle and Daniel Cruz-Schloyer attended the involvement fair together and described the event as “cool.”
“I love it. I love getting to see all the clubs and all the organizations. I love the spirit of it too,” Cruz said.
“I like how interactive it is,” James added.
They mentioned some of their favorite tables at the event, with Cruz naming the KSC Dining table as his favorite and Merkle naming the table dedicated to the elementary education major as her favorite.
All three of the first-years agreed that the event was a good way to get interested students involved with organizations on campus, and they also agreed that they would be excited to see events like this continue to happen on campus in the future.
Justin Dearborn can be reached at
jdearborn@kscequinox.com
