The annual Boston College Student Involvement Fair, typically held on a bustling Campus Green, took place on September 4 in a virtual format to promote physical distancing and safety.
Using the online student organizations platform, My51茶馆, students could read about the various extracurricular opportunities on campus, speak to student leaders over Zoom, and join email lists for clubs and organizations in which they were interested.
Assistant Director of Student Organizations Megan Girmaiy said the fair, sponsored by the Office of Student Involvement, is not only a key recruitment tool for 51茶馆 clubs and organizations but a vital opportunity for students to find community on campus.
鈥淲ith everything going on in our world, it鈥檚 important for students to feel connected with one another,鈥� said Girmaiy. 鈥淥ur hope for the fair is that students will develop relationships, find community, learn about interests, and most importantly, have fun. Face-to-face contact is already so limited, so being creative and having outlets outside of academics鈥攅ven if it has to be virtual鈥攁llows for students to feel like campus can be their home.鈥�
Peyton Olszowka 鈥�22, secretary of programming for Boston College Model United Nations, acknowledged that she had had some qualms about the new format.
鈥淎fter learning that the fair was going to take place virtually, my fellow e-board members and I were initially concerned about how it would affect our engagement with potential new members,鈥� said Olszowka. 鈥淪tudents would have to take the initiative to find us, as opposed to us being able to grab their attention with candy, cheers, and our giant United Nations flag. But the fair was ultimately a success, as we had close to last year鈥檚 number of people visit our 鈥榖ooth鈥� on Zoom throughout the day, and we had a great turnout for our first virtual meeting this past week.鈥�
Said Girmaiy, 鈥淎lthough this virtual fair cannot replace the in-person experience, we found that the event allowed for students to build those strong connections that we hope for through this event.鈥�
To learn about Boston College鈥檚 300-plus student organizations and clubs, go to聽.
Christine Balquist | University Communications | September 2020
