By: Kadisha Pierre-Louis
News Editor
Finding the right club, organization or campus event can be difficult for students who are unsure of where to start. This semester, the university is hoping its new OwlConnect system will make it easier for students to discover opportunities and become more involved on campus.
Daphney Alston, associate director of Student Involvement and Leadership Development, said the new system is designed to improve the experience for both students and organization leaders.
“It’ll make things easier for student organizations leaders to manage their clubs as well, to do more forms online as opposed to paper. So, it just makes things a lot more efficient,” Alston said.
The updated platform is designed to give students a simpler way to find organizations and events while also making it easier for student organization leaders to manage their clubs.
“The new system also allows student organization leaders to complete more forms online rather than relying on paper forms,” Alston said.
The changes are intended to make managing student organizations more efficient. Alston expects the new system to become a new part of the campus experience
For students, one of the main features of the updated system is the ability to create a profile and receive recommedtions for organizations and events.
University departments will also have OwlConnect pages, allowing students to see different activities and events happening across campus in one place.
“When you log on and create your profile, it’ll recommend different events and organizations for you to participate in,” Alston said.
Getting involved outside of the classroom can provide students with skills that benefit them beyond college. Alston said involvement can help students become more employable while developing their leadership skills and becoming more aware of their leadership identities.
“You want to make sure you’re doing something outside of the classroom because that makes you more employable, a global citizenship, and just being more aware of your leadership identity and skills,” Alston said
Students find campus involvement through unexpected and informal ways, while platforms like OwlConnect provide an easy way for students to search through various clubs to find their community on campus.
Early childhood education major Isabelle Velazquez, a freshman, said she initially attended the organizations meeting due to seeing a social media post promoted on Instagram.
“I saw it on Instagram, and I thought it was just a free food event. Had no idea it was a body meeting, so I’m sitting here like a sore thumb,” Velazquez said.
Although the introduction was unexpected, Velazquez enjoyed the meeting and members and stayed involved, showing how campus promotions can encourage students to discover organizations.
Students can join clubs in ways such as OwlConnect or just through being on campus and being open to different events being promoted on campus.
“It definitely has helped because getting to know people makes you more comfortable in everything. And definitely made me feel more connected with the school,” early childhood education major Julie Cole, a freshman, said
For early childhood education major Gernasia Ward, a freshman, campus involvement has given her the opportunity to meet new people from different backgrounds she might not have encountered if she did not get involved on campus.
“Just meeting new people, seeing where they come from, what their story is interesting and important for everything in life,” Ward said.
The university also plans to use OwlConnect to better understand student involvement on campus.
The updated OwlConnect provides more data analytics, allowing the university to track information such as how often students log in, which organizations they join and which events they attend.
“We gather information about who’s logging on OwlConnect, how often people are logging on, what groups folks are part of, who’s involved, who’s not involved and what types of events people are going to,” Alston said
However, the transition to a new platform has not been completely without challenges.
Students and organization leaders still must learn how to navigate the new system, which Alston described as part of the “growing pains.”
While OwlConnect can help students discover organizations and events, Alston said students still must make the effort to become involved.
“There’s a group for everybody. There’s something happening all the time. And really the hardest step is just stepping outside your comfort zone and just being open to what’s happening in front of you,” Alston said.
Students who step outside their comfort zones may find an organization or community where they belong.
