On Aug. 28, hundreds of students crowded upper campus at 5:00 p.m. for the Student Involvement Fair (SIF) sponsored by Student Engagement and Development.
Throughout the years, a significant emphasis at Trinity University has been placed on the growth and development of student organizations, and this year, almost 200 organizations tabled at the event to recruit new members.
Due to the Esplanade construction, the location was moved to the Magic Stones. This change allowed for organizations to spread out and for the fair to accommodate a larger number of organizations — 172 this year compared to last year’s 154.
The Vietnamese Student Association (VSA) was one of these 172 organizations. Tam Phan, junior psychology major and president of VSA, attended this year’s SIF on behalf of the organization and emphasized the importance of having an event like SIF for recruiting, which can be a challenge for some cultural organizations.
“It can be a little bit daunting, just because it is typically a Vietnamese Student Association, so it can scare other students of different colors and nationalities from entering but we are super inviting and open to everyone to learn more about Viet culture,” Phan said.
Phan emphasized that SIF was not just an event for recruiting, but also for connecting student organizations through networking opportunities.
“[VSA] bonds with other clubs nearby, and we all have collabs,” Phan said. “This time, we did not bring a speaker, but the Korean Student Association [did], and they shared with us. It was super fun, just a lot of interactions with each other, and I think that is what drew other members towards us.”
Marina Oquendo, junior art history and global Latinx studies major and Trinity Art Collective member, echoed Phan’s sentiments about the involvement fair being daunting. Despite having a vibrant booth with interactive displays, Oquendo shared that it was difficult to stand out from the crowd.
“It is a challenge that everybody has, art is not something that everybody likes and we [are] trying to scout out who among the crowd would be interested,” Oquendo said.
Despite the worries about being able to stand out from the crowd, several organizations shared that they were still able to attract many new members. JC Canlas, sophomore international studies major and co-president of the Filipino Student Association (FSA), helped represent FSA to potential members at SIF.
“I have not really been keeping count, but so far, almost everyone who has stopped by our stand has scanned the QR codes, which is always really exciting to know that people are eager to join,” Canlas said.
With 172 organizations and hundreds of students, networking opportunities abounded for everyone involved. And don’t worry if you missed out this time, the Student Involvement Fair returns in spring.
