At SUNY Oswego's annual Student Involvement Fair -- this year on Wednesday, Aug. 29 -- students explored opportunities to join clubs and organizations, find their fit and make new friends.
The Student Involvement Fair is "one of the biggest kind of organization, collaboration events on campus," said Ryan Rodriguez, a senior public relations major who helped organize the event in the Marano Campus Center arena.
"It's a big opportunity just for people to find a little niche because usually when freshmen and transfer students come in they feel kind of lost, so finding clubs and finding a set group is good when you first come in," said Andrew Sommer, a senior cinema and screen studies and broadcasting and mass communication major working the table for the Oswego Film Club.
"We show people and explain how they should properly address stuff in the black community. And we talk about it ourselves. We have serious notes, we have funny notes and stuff like that," said Lorenne Huaman, a sophomore cinema and screen studies major representing the Black Student Union. "And we just like touch on the mental, social, physical aspect of everything in the black community."
"It's important because when you come to campus, you don't really know much about the school. I mean, you go through orientation, all that good stuff, but a part of being a lot of the time away from campus and at college is making new friends and having those connections throughout college and this is the perfect place to do that," Rodriguez explained.
"Basically our motto is if you wanna come and dance, you can come and dance," said senior accounting major Katelyn Cook of the Del Sarte Dance Club. "We offer all levels, so beginner, intermediate, advanced, and all different types of styles, and it really just depends on what the choreographer brings to the table."
"The Involvement Fair gets a chance for people to stop by, see us, learn a little bit about the team, and we always have a horse in the quad, so they get to meet one of our horses. And get to see what we're all about," said Emily Sprague, a senior adolescence education and geology major with the Oswego State Equestrian Team.
"When I first came here I wasn't that confident and this really gave me that boost. It helped me make better social skills, make more friends and it really gave me like a family environment," Sommer said.
In addition to the clubs and organizations, representatives of college departments and programs, as well as local businesses and agencies, also offered giveaways and information.
For more information about getting involved at SUNY Oswego, visit lakerlife.oswego.edu.