Welcome back Cardinals! The Fall 2023 Involvement Fest was a total success according to all I interviewed. By hearing from students of all years, it is safe to say everyone had a blast. I spent most of my time at Involvement Fest enticing all you lovely readers into joining this fascinating club, the Cardinal Courier. Aside from mentioning how amazing our club is, I took some time to walk around and talk with other astounding clubs and fellow students; here are some things they had to say about Involvement Fest 2023:

I only made my way around to a few tables as Fisher is stocked full of clubs. We started off strong with the affinity clubs. I talked to the Asian Student Union and had the privilege of chatting with the president, Degraj Suberi. Degraj mentioned the amazing events and efforts the other affinity groups have already been putting in this semester. “Involvement Fest is going great. I love seeing a lot of different people and I love talking about the Asian Student Union and trying to get people here.” Suberi also noted to look out this semester for many different events from ASU as well as collaborations with the other affinity clubs. 

While meeting with Suberi we also talked about how important it is to get people involved in not only ASU, but the other affinity clubs on campus as well. The list of clubs located here on campus consists of Black Student Union, Latino Student Union, Sexual and Gender Alliance, Muslim Student Association and Asian Student Union. All of these affinity clubs are very strong, rising clubs on campus; I personally can’t wait to see all the amazing things they will put together this semester. 

Along with me, fourth-year Lilliana Weldeslassie is equally excited. When being interviewed Weldeslassie said, “I am a huge fan of the affinity clubs and I can’t wait to see everything they are doing and how much they grow. I get so proud everytime I see them…and their growth.” Weldeslassie is a member of Black Student Union and was last year’s club president. Along with Asian Student Union and Black Student Union, all of the affinity clubs have seen major growth over the last few semesters and are expecting to grow even more this semester, which is amazing for our community and campus. On behalf of the affinity clubs, please get involved and check out their fun and exciting events this fall semester Cardinals.

Next, I stopped by two sports clubs’ tables at the festival. Now, I will let you decide if dance should be considered a sport or not, but as a biased member I’ll start there. I talked with Sara Yorio, Vice President of Fisher Dance Club, and shared the excitement with her for our upcoming semester and fall recital. Yorio shared how there was an increased amount of interest for the dance club this year, as well as some exclusive information. Mark your calendars, Cardinals, as the Fisher Dance Club Recital is set for November 10th, 11th and 12th, 2023 with times to be determined. After visiting with Yorio I decided to stop by another sports club which I feel deserves more attention from the student body as well. 

When I reached the Hockey Club table I was instantly intimidated by the trophies. I was very excited to interview some members of the club, including the club president Brandon Makowski. Brandon shared with me his love for his sport, club, and teammates. Makowski wants all Fisher students to know, “we have our national trophy on our table and are trying to get some awareness about the club as not a lot of people know we have a hockey team here and that’s been our mission for the last couple of years, to build up that following.” It seems as though the Fisher Hockey team is looking for support and a rambunctious student section this upcoming season as they build their following. Now that you know about the club, make sure to go out and support them!

Makowski continued to tell me about the struggles Fisher Hockey faces with being a club sport as well as what the team means to him. “We have a hockey team; we are not just some club who just go around having fun on the ice for an hour a week; we practice, we play hard, and at the end of the day we are winning national championships.” The dedication and love the members shared for the sport was truly inspiring. Another member, second-year Jack Chapman shared how “hockey club is electric” and they all are hoping the crowds will be this year as well. While talking to Makowski and some other members of the team, they mentioned how the attendance at games has increased over the last year and their hopes for it to grow even more are high. The type of energy they feel on the ice from the crowd is important to them, so come on Cardinals, let’s go support our National Champions this season! 

Finally I interviewed some students who shared their excitement of attending the Involvement Fest. First-year Dani Seamon shared how crazy and exciting the event was. She stated how there are so many more clubs than she thought and appreciated how inclusive and involved everyone was on campus. Similar to Seamon, a first-year, Ethan France shared his excitement about the many clubs he signed up for and shared how he plans on attending them all. 

Being a commuter student, France is excited to meet new people and be involved on campus as much as possible. Now this is the excitement that makes Involvement Fest such a success for first-year students, but what about transfer students? I met with transfer student Sarah Costello who shared her appreciation for the festival. Costello confided in me to share how easy and exciting it is to get involved on campus and how much it means to her, especially at her new school. These are the kind of emotions and stories that Involvement Fest is all about, making everyone feel welcome and home at Fisher.

Thank you to all the clubs, members, and students that let me interview them. I hope everyone enjoyed the involvement fest as much as many of the clubs and organizations did! Take some time this semester to relax, join a club, and get involved with our school. It is so important to meet new people and to stay involved. Involvement Fest is just the start in making connections at Fisher. Happy fall Cardinals!