Ninety-six student organizations set up camp on the turf of Hess field on Friday, September 10 for the University’s annual Involvement Fair. Hosted by the Office of Student Activities, the fair is held during Welcome Week as a way to network with both new and returning students and to encourage them to become active members of the campus community.
This was the first time that various academic, athletic, and religious organizations were able to meet prospective new members in person in two years since last year’s Involvement Fair was hosted virtually.
For clubs like Best Buddies, the fair was met with much success. David Fasolino, the President and Founder of Best Buddies explained that the club was able to recruit 84 new members at the Involvement Fair.
This recruitment is a significant improvement from last year since the club was unable to attend the fair due to inactive status. This year, the Best Buddies club is back and better than ever, partnering with The Arc of Monmouth, a non-profit organization supporting the lives of those with special needs.
Fasolino is hopeful about this year. “I anticipate that this year will be different because we have a new partnership and there is new leadership within the organization that is willing to work with Best Buddies and Monmouth University.”
The Monmouth University Sailing Team is another club that had a positive experience at the event, following a year of being unable to sail or compete as a result of COVID-19.
Abby Brooks, the Co-Captain of the team explained that this year’s turnout was much better than expected, as they recruited 31 new sailors.
“We weren’t expecting to get anywhere near the number of sign-ups that we did, but we’re so happy that so many people expressed interest in trying something new with our club…We are hopeful that we’ll be able to get out on the water and see some fresh faces.”
Ironically, of the 31 sign-ups that they received at the event, the vast majority did not have experience sailing a boat.
The 88.9 WMCX radio station is another club that had remarkable success in recruiting new members last week. Lauren Abreu is the General Manager of the station, and she said that between the Involvement Fair and the “Welcome to Comm” event the club was able to recruit more new members than they previously had in their entire roster.
Bella Lainez, co-host of WASPOPPIN Radio on WMCX added that they had more sign-ups than they’ve had in a long time. She explained that last year’s virtual involvement fair came with a lot of difficulties.
“It was hard for us to emphasize all that WMCX has to offer via Zoom. This year, getting to see everyone who came to the table was so exciting and I think our enthusiasm about WMCX was more visible than it had been over Zoom.”
Above all, Lainez said that members of the WMCX e-board are more than ready to get back to doing all the cool events they have done in the past.
So, whether students were looking for something to enhance their resume or try something new, there was something for everyone at the Involvement Fair this year. For those who didn’t have a chance to attend, The Office of Student Activities continuously posts events and ways to get more involved on campus on their Instagram, @mu_student activities.
