Jack Andersen
There is no doubt that the transition into college can be a challenging endeavor. From learning to do your own laundry without overflowing the machines, to helplessly speed walking from one side of campus to the other.
While it is a blessing to attend a school with over 700 clubs and organizations on campus, the process of finding your niche among so many choices is overwhelming.
New member recruitment can be a challenge, but involvement is perhaps one of the University of Missouri’s best qualities. From the clubs and activities on campus, to Division I sports organizations and the Greek Life system, there is no shortage of involvement opportunities on campus.
At the beginning of Welcome Week, Mizzou’s clubs and organizations work to network and grow their participating members to represent the school in its best capacity.
Student involvement ambassador and Treasurer of the MU Improv club, Zoe Simons, explained her experience with MU Improv and their recruitment of new members this year.
Simons recalled how during her first year as a member of MU Improv, she felt that the program was not as inclusive. Since then, the club has grown and led her to adopt a friendly demeanor when welcoming new members into the organization.
“I did not feel the most included in improv when I was a freshman and I think that has led to me being overly friendly with the new people, because I don’t want anyone to feel that way,” Simons said.
Simons explained the importance of involvement on campus as a sort of trial and error, explaining how as a freshman, new experiences are always readily available. She detailed the importance of building relationships while also attempting to foster friendships and connecting with new members.
“We also try and practice and mix up the groups of people performing together, so that it’s not just new kids performing, it’s like a mixture of both. And we always try to make sure that they are getting as much out of it. And we train them for a semester, and then after that semester, they are good to audition their teams and perform at our shows,” Simons said.
Simons applauded traditions such as big-little, a practice that is typically associated with Greek Life, but notes the importance of relationships with new members. The tradition entails that an older member of the organization is paired as a mentor or friend to a new member to help acclimate them into the group and build relationships.
“Every practice we will introduce anyone new, we play this game called Boom, Bang. Everyone is in a circle, we all hear each other’s names, and then if you call someone’s name, they duck, and the people next to them go, ‘Bang,’ and then they get hit, they’re out. It’s a very good way to learn names,” Simons said.
While Simons and the MU Improv club have done a phenomenal job at encouraging new member involvement, they are not the only ones generating ways to call out to new members.
The Mizzou Debate and Forensics team has also been successful in involvement. Chairman Catelynn Liniger finds involvement and welcoming of new members to be an extremely important part of running an organization.
As an involvement ambassador Liniger explains her leadership style as being similar to a friendship, including hints of professionalism, but the collaborative nature of forensics allows for strong connections with new members.
“Our organization is based around public speaking debate. So we try to do activities that make them feel more comfortable and we support each other throughout those activities as well as just doing silly little things like icebreakers or including them in activities as early as we can,” said Liniger.
Whether it is choosing an event and holding a political debate or creating a fun skit to perform at an improv show, Mizzou truly has something for everyone. Without such warm and welcoming faces, new students would never have the courage to try new things, learn and grow as college was intended.
Edited by Mikalah Owens | [email protected]
Copy edited by Grace Morgan and Emma Harper | [email protected]
Edited by Chase Pray | [email protected]