The Involvement Fair occurred yesterday, from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. in Gampel Pavilion, bringing students from all years, majors and interests together to promote various clubs and organizations.
The Involvement Fair happens twice a year, once per semester, allowing students to learn about ways they can get involved at the University of Connecticut. Yesterday, there were over 400 clubs and organizations at the fair, giving students the chance to explore their interests. Clubs ranged from all topics, including sports, music, video games, literature, food, culture, media and more. Academic and service organizations, greek life, club sports and tier-three organizations all had tables to promote their groups.
Abbey Lonergan, a eighth-semester chemistry major, is the president of Coffee and Tea Club, a group that gathers to talk about, and drink different kinds of tea and coffee.
Lonergan said the Coffee and Tea Club meets twice a month to talk about the history, agriculture and science of coffee and tea, as well as the communities that drink it.
Lonergan said she was excited to be at the involvement fair and have good conversations with people.
“We have had a lot of nice conversations mostly. I am not really worried about people joining, I just like talking about it personally. Just even having a conversation with someone who might pique their interest and join, that’s fine with me,” Lonergan said.
There were a variety of clubs dedicated to niche types of media, whether that be romance novels or horror movies.
Allison McSally, an eighth-semester nursing major, is the vice president of Husky Horror Club, a group of students that meet once a week to watch horror movies together.
Just even having a conversation with someone who might pique their interest and join, that’s fine with me.
Abbey Lonergan, President of the Coffee and Tea Club
“We talk about horror media, whether it is video games or movies, and it’s just a nice place to hang out at the end of the week and meet like minded people,” McSally said.
McSally, who has been a part of the club since her sophomore year, said joining the club was a great way for her to grow out of her shell and meet new people.
McSally said she encourages anyone who is even slightly interested in horror to join the club on Thursday from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. in Gant 002.
Amayah Algarin, a fourth-semester allied health science major, is the president of a new club called Romance Goodreads and Gossip, a group dedicated toward reading romance novels.
“When I came to UConn, I knew that I loved [romance novels] but I didn’t really have that many friends who also read them. So I decided to start a club, to meet some new girls who love to read romance novels so that we have all our rant sessions,” Algarin said.
Algarin said she was excited to be at the involvement fair and received a lot of interest. The club meets on Thursday from 7:15 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the Student Union.
There was also a variety of STEM-related clubs, dedicated for students to bring their studies into various forms of involvement.
Ian Pichs, a mechanical engineering major, was at the fair tabling for a new Electric Boat Club that just began this year.
Pichs said they work with a senior design team, and the goal is to compete against other schools. Pichs said they are looking for anyone to join the Electric Boat Club, whether that be to work on the actual boats, or other components such as graphic design or marketing.
“We are looking for any discipline, any engineering discipline, any major can help. Anyone can help if they want to help,” Pichs said.
There were also clubs that focused on community service.
Josie Simon, a sixth-semester business management major, is a part of Love for Our Elders Club, which is part of a larger organization that is dedicated to spreading joy to elders in nursing homes.
Simon said the club meets twice a month to write letters to elders who want to receive the letters.
“We send about 20 cards each time, but then this is happening all around the U.S. So this one person gets like all these cards filled with love and support,” Simon said.
Simon, who has been a part of the club since her freshman year, said it is a great way to do community service and meet new people.
All of the organizations at the fair can be found on UConntact, a university-wide engagement website that all students can access. Students can go to the website and log in with their NetID and password.