Student organizations offer channels for building leadership skills, making friends and connecting with learning and workforce opportunities. But engagement with student groups can seem complicated for adult learners studying virtually. University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC) has provided a bridge to its student organizations by launching a virtual Student Organization Fair.
The fair late last month, now envisioned as an annual event, was part of Student Involvement Month. The fair welcomed prospective members to explore student clubs and a soon-to-be student organization.
“Student organizations can help students in many ways,” said Shelley Hintz, director of student engagement at UMGC. “They can provide a sense of belonging for students, they can allow students to find peers with similar interests and they can help students move towards their educational and career goals.
Hintz is also an adjunct assistant professor who teaches first term experience classes.
“Many of our students appreciate having this community of support available to them,” Hintz noted. “And the organizations aim to enable students to participate regardless of location.”
The Behavioral and Social Science Student Association (BSSSA) was one of the groups taking part. It is open to all students with an interest in psychology, social science, gerontology, sociology, anthropology and other social sciences. Students attending the fair had the chance to interact with some of BSSSA’s 1,575 members.
“We have monthly meetings, presidential announcements and host a monthly student spotlight,” said BSSSA President Tonyakristin Henderson, who is majoring in psychology and minoring in forensics.
The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) was another of the groups available to field questions from students.
“We host monthly meetings with discussions on human resources trends and issues within the industry,” said Gerette Balon, student president of SHRM and a human resources management major and cybersecurity minor. SHRM has 954 members and allows students studying or interested in human resources to network and connect with faculty and experienced industry experts.
“We have had many interesting guest speakers, and one of our goals is to bridge the UMGC overseas hubs despite the time difference,” Balon added.
In addition to BSSSA and SHRM, other organizations at the fair included the Accounting Club, Environmental Awareness Club, History Student Society, LGBTQ+ Student Association, Novel Ideas: Book Publishing Network, Power Speaks and Women in Cyber Security (WiCyS). In addition, the prospective student organization IEEE Student Branch had a booth at the fair, as well as UMGC Career Services and the Student Engagement and Programming department.
A complete list of UMGC organizations and clubs is available HERE.
“The Student Organization Fair was part of Student Involvement Month, which was a celebration during the month of February to promote the student,” said Hintz. “The student organizations are promoted in some of our classes, such as program and career courses, and there will also be awards later this spring.”
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