Campus organizations try to woo unengaged students
The Student Success Center and the Office of Student Engagement hosted the first-ever Speed Dating Engagement event Monday.
Representatives from the Office of Student Engagement, Study Abroad, Intramural Sports, Undergraduate Research, USC Connect, Multicultural Student Affairs, Fraternity and Sorority Life and the Student Success Center gave brief presentations about their organizations.
The Student Success Center hosted the event because it wanted to give students an engagement opportunity that would make sure they knew how to become involved on campus, said Tiffany Howard, a coach in the SSC’s Academic Coaching and Engagement program. The center thought the speed dating theme would be catchy and attract a large number of students, she said.
Howard, who coordinated the event, said she hopes students walked away knowing about at least one new student organization.
“That is our overall goal, that every student walks away with one new idea, is excited about something [and] found out new information that they’ve never heard of before, new opportunities that they didn’t know about before, to make sure that they have the greatest college experience that they ever could,” Howard said.
Students who participated in the event said they thought the organizations’ presentations were relevant and informative, and many of them plan to take advantage of what was shown to them.
“I thought it was very informative,” said Jake Ingersoll, a first-year marine science student. “I really need to be proactive about getting involved and all of the resources, getting to know they’re there.”
Study Abroad representatives told students that there are study abroad opportunities for every major, and that study abroad can be very affordable. Last year, the office helped 1,250 students go to 49 different countries.
Victoria Trutie, a first-year pre-pharmacy student, came specifically to hear about Study Abroad.
“I got to actually speak to the girls who have been [abroad] more than once,” Trutie said. After their presentation, Trutie said she is considering going on a shorter trip rather than a long study abroad excursion.