Students can visit Fairfield Way just across from Gampel Pavillion, between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. on Sept. 4 to check out the University of Connecticut Involvement Fair. Here, students will be able to see over 500 student organizations and university programs, and get involved with hundreds of different clubs, teams, volunteer opportunities and more.
The Involvement Fair is a way for UConn students to find groups on campus who share similar interests with them. According to the Involvement Fair’s website, “getting involved [with the fair] can help you make friends, build your resume, expand your horizons, develop your leadership skills, and have fun all while doing something that interests you.”
Sarah Bernhardt, the program coordinator for student organization support, talked about the involvement fair in an interview with the Daily Campus.
“The involvement fair is one of those hallmark events that every institution of higher education typically has, to display all the ways students can get involved, whether that be with clubs and organizations, finding a job on campus, getting connected to other resources and things like that,” Bernhardt said.
Bernhardt also talked about the benefit that the fair has for UConn students.
“The one thing that’s really awesome about getting involved on campus is that it’s backed by research that getting involved on campus helps with retention for students and feeling that they have a sense of belonging, so that’s really exciting that this event can help students find a niche or a group of people that will help them feel more connected to campus,” Bernhardt said. “It allows them to find something that maybe compliments their major or their area of study, or something that gives them a little bit of a break from that if it’s more of a hobby or something fun to do.”
Groups will have tables set up along Fairfield Way for the four-hour duration of the fair, with poster boards containing information for each group. On both ends of Fairfield Way students will find check-in tents which will answer any questions, provide a map of all the tables and give out a list of table numbers.
Groups will be separated into various categories, such as Greek Life, Honors & Military, Religion & Spirituality, Academic, Political Interest and Club Sports. According to Bernhardt, “If someone’s particularly interested in a certain category it’s really easy for them to find that area flag and go to that area and check out all the groups in there or look at the map or the table listing and see where a particular organization is.”
The fair is organized annually by the Department of Student Activities. This year, the department decided to extend the fair further down Fairfield Way because of the record number of applicants. They received over 600 applications for table displays this year, and will have 530 tables dedicated to student organizations, 35 tables dedicated to university programs, and six tables dedicated to UConn’s Tier III organizations.