Organization Fair offers wide range of opportunities
By Jessica Moser
Antelope Staff
The Student Organization Fair offered an assortment of 28 booths on Wednesday, Jan. 24 to help students discover new interests and get to know organizations they’re interested in.
The event, usually held in the Nebraskan Student Union, was held in the Health and Sports Center for the first time due to the ongoing renovations in the student union.
“We do it every semester, toward the beginning of the semester,” said Tim Danube, the associate director for the Nebraskan. “So, there’re really two ways to approach it: if you’re an organization, it’s a good recruitment or advertising tool. Or, if you’re a student looking to get involved, it’s kind of a one-stop shopping opportunity. It’s an opportunity to come around and actually speak to members about the group and see if it’s something they might want to get involved in.”
This event is held to help students get involved around campus, which can lead to meeting new people, learning about leadership opportunities, networking and resume building, among other benefits. Many of the booths were handing out candy, key chains and koozies to entice students walking by to stop and chat.
One of the most popular booths was the Chemistry Club due to their homemade ice cream. They made ice cream with liquid nitrogen. “We just mix up the ingredients, half-and-half, heavy whipping cream and stuff like that. Then we pour the liquid nitrogen directly on it and that just freezes it into actual ice cream,” said junior Molly Kohlbek, a chemistry pre-pharmacy major from Springfield. Students also appreciated the chocolate and caramel sauce to drizzle atop the ice cream.
“We do a lot of stuff to get freshmen involved,” said Sarah Turner, a freshman language arts education major from Spalding, who was overseeing the First Year Program booth. “Freshman year is kind of a tough time, and it just opens up a lot of leadership opportunities, too. It’s just so easy to sit in your room and watch Netflix, so you have to go out and get involved. Just do it.”
“Being in an organization like this, you can really focus on bringing awareness to people who need it. One issue is student drinking. “Because alcohol is a big part of college, and it’s really good to get out and make a public appearance and show that you can be safe, and you can make the right choices,” said Adeline Hand, a sophomore nursing major from Pleasanton.
Hand was supervising the Greeks Advocating the Mature Management of Alcohol (GAMMA) booth, which was also promoting UNK’s Safe Ride program. The GAMMA booth was handing out keychains with the Safe Ride number on the back.
“I think joining an organization is a really good way to get involved and take yourself out of just doing classwork,” said Hand. “Get yourself out there, meet new people and make a good impression on your community; it’s a really good resume builder to be in any organization. Just to get your foot in the door.”
