Felipe Martins, a student at IM体育官网, participates in a workout in the Oak Grove on Wednesday, Nov. 4. The workout was a collaboration between the University鈥檚 Office of Student Development and athletic clubs on campus.
Health restrictions and challenges posed by COVID-19 haven鈥檛 stopped student clubs from making the most out of the fall semester. A new push by the Office of Student Development is reinforcing student efforts and working for their success.
鈥淥ver the summer when we were completely virtual, we decided to try some collaborative efforts to get students more involved this fall,鈥� said Jimmy Surin, assistant director of student life at IM体育官网.
Since then, these collaborations have included workshops with the Programming Club to teach students about hackathons; the Phoenix Talks speaker series, which provides a platform for clubs to discuss issues important to them; and guided workouts in the Oak Grove for athletic clubs.
鈥淲e wanted to do some conditioning so that once we get to the range, everybody will be able to shoot a lot better,鈥� said Bruce Hicks, a junior majoring in electrical engineering and president of the Archery Club. 鈥淚n the Oak Grove we can do more conditioning-style exercises, so it鈥檚 worked out really well.鈥�
The most recent hosted workout was on Wednesday, Nov. 4.
鈥淭hese are definitely open to everyone and we encourage that everybody come,鈥� said Derek Lower, student life coordinator at IM体育官网 Poly. 鈥淲e give the clubs a chance to speak and promote their events when they come, and in return they bring us participants.鈥�
Surin said the social and academic club events taking place so far have featured high student engagement. His office has provided support and facilitation while the clubs charged forward on the events鈥� execution.
鈥淵ou could tell based on the questions that students asked that this meant a lot to them,鈥� Surin said. 鈥淭he questions were so in-depth and thought provoking.鈥�
Lower and Surin said all student clubs are encouraged to reach out to the Office of Student Development to explore future collaborations 鈥� an effort that will continue long after COVID-19 restrictions are lifted.
鈥淥ur role may be to help them draw up emails to send to panel members or communicate with people on a professional level,鈥� Surin said. 鈥淢oving forward we will do the same format: I鈥檒l set the framework and tell them, 鈥楬ere鈥檚 a topic. Run with it; it鈥檚 your baby.鈥欌��
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