Get Involved!

The Center for Student Involvement Winter Involvement Fair, Feb. 22-23, brought together many of the university’s student clubs over the course of two days. Participating clubs set up their tables in the Student Center with tri-fold posters, flags, stickers, buttons and merchandise to catch wandering students’ eyes.

The clubs snaked their way from the 1st floor to the 3rd, leading students into the Student Involvement office, opening the door for students to learn more about offerings from different clubs. The Involvement Fair also served as a gateway to begin the transitionary period from virtual to in-person engagement with clubs and activities.

Walking through the fair, the air was buzzing with energy from both the club leaders and the students. Since the pandemic, campus life has drastically changed from what seniors graduating this year remember from their first year on campus.

Rylee Bosse, ’22, and Tatiana Tomanek, ’22, from the Triangle Club expressed their excitement over the upcoming Drag Show event, which hasn’t happened in-person since 2019. These legacy events are ones that many students haven’t either heard of or experienced due to the largely virtual and hybrid campus life of the past two years.

Through the Involvement Fair, club leaders not only promote their club but also reach out and connect with students in the hope of keeping these traditions alive.

Jacobe Castro, ’22, vice President of the Marianos Taotao Tano Club, expressed the difficulty of getting students engaged and willing to participate in the clubs because many aren't aware these groups exist.

Castro and his team took the Involvement Fair as an opportunity to share with student of all the events they have planned out for the remainder of the academic year such as Fiesta, an annual legacy event celebrating the culture of Mariana Islands with food, traditional legend storytelling and music.   

Shannon Christensen, the executive director of SEAC (Student Events and Activities Council), says she’s noticed that students have been craving community interaction. A problem that comes with a post-pandemic life, however, is to get those who may not feel as comfortable to begin attending in-person events again. It’s a challenge that almost every club acknowledged they are faced with.

As students returned to in-person classes January 31, clubs are eager to see student participation pick up. If the Student Involvement Fair is any indication, that spark of campus life is coming back.