Here's some advice: Get involved
By: Megan Harris
Issue date: 8/14/08 Section: News
During their first few weeks at The University of Memphis, incoming freshmen will get more advice from upperclassmen and faculty members than they might like, but they'd do well to listen.
Warnings about professors, dreaded 8 a.m. classes and troublesome tales of exams-gone-wrong abound, occasionally splintered with a few optimistic ideas. Above any others, freshmen are most likely to hear one suggestion - get involved.
The U of M boasts more than 80 registered student organizations scattered all over campus, each promising shared interests and fast friendships. They include The Dancing Network, The Fred Mertz Association and Creative Writing Club for the artsy crowd; the Environmental Action Club for green-thinkers; the Golden Key International Honour Society and Honor Student Council for a studious bunch, or a combination of several. The groups are as individual as the students themselves.
Intramural sports, organized religious groups, individual philanthropies, sororities and fraternities each exist to bring students with similar interests together on a personal level.
Angie Dunlap, coordinator of the Student Activities Council, Frosh Camp and U of M Habitat for Humanity, remembers her days as a college student fondly. Dunlap said some of her best experiences came through organizations she belonged to, so now she's shares her passion with the current batch of the U of M community.
"I think it's a really good way to meet people and enhance your college experience," she said, smiling. "It puts into practice a lot of the concepts students learn in school, but in ways you can see and feel."
Her office in the eighth floor of Wilder Tower is littered with the colorful remnants of projects and games her organizations have recently been a part of. On the corner of her desk, she finds space for a small stack of "Opening Week 2008" cards.
Pointing to Monday, Aug 25, she excitedly reads the times for the Student Involvement Fair immediately following Freshman Convocation at 3:15 p.m. on the Alumni Mall.
Warnings about professors, dreaded 8 a.m. classes and troublesome tales of exams-gone-wrong abound, occasionally splintered with a few optimistic ideas. Above any others, freshmen are most likely to hear one suggestion - get involved.
The U of M boasts more than 80 registered student organizations scattered all over campus, each promising shared interests and fast friendships. They include The Dancing Network, The Fred Mertz Association and Creative Writing Club for the artsy crowd; the Environmental Action Club for green-thinkers; the Golden Key International Honour Society and Honor Student Council for a studious bunch, or a combination of several. The groups are as individual as the students themselves.
Intramural sports, organized religious groups, individual philanthropies, sororities and fraternities each exist to bring students with similar interests together on a personal level.
Angie Dunlap, coordinator of the Student Activities Council, Frosh Camp and U of M Habitat for Humanity, remembers her days as a college student fondly. Dunlap said some of her best experiences came through organizations she belonged to, so now she's shares her passion with the current batch of the U of M community.
"I think it's a really good way to meet people and enhance your college experience," she said, smiling. "It puts into practice a lot of the concepts students learn in school, but in ways you can see and feel."
Her office in the eighth floor of Wilder Tower is littered with the colorful remnants of projects and games her organizations have recently been a part of. On the corner of her desk, she finds space for a small stack of "Opening Week 2008" cards.
Pointing to Monday, Aug 25, she excitedly reads the times for the Student Involvement Fair immediately following Freshman Convocation at 3:15 p.m. on the Alumni Mall.