A goal of this week's Welcome Week at Grand Canyon University, beyond moving into living quarters, is helping students get connected to campus life. Student clubs are a great way to do that, and this year, they have a larger role in the festivities.
For the first time, four clubs are holding official Welcome Week events, and the large Community and Club Fair will make an impression Friday morning instead of the first week of classes, as in year’s past.
“I’m really excited about it and students are excited about it; they get to brand their club before the school year starts,” said Clubs and Organizations Manager Abigail Castillo of the 110 student clubs.
“Clubs tap into a social place for students. Of course, they are here for academics, but at the same time, how do you find friends that are like-minded, not just academically but socially?” she continued. “I think that is where a lot of students find their friends. They go hiking together, or on trips together, and it’s where they find their core group.”
They might go hike with Lopes Outdoors or tend to campus cats with Trap and Release. They might dance with American Kids Country Swing or connect with the Latino Student Union, two of GCU’s largest clubs that were picked to have events featured during Welcome Week. The former will get students boot-scootin’ at 6:30 p.m. Saturday on Prescott Field.
“A lot of freshmen can’t get off campus or really know the area well yet and want to make friends on campus. Why not go swing dance?” Castillo said.
And the Latino Student Union’s event, called Rompiendo Hielo (breaking the ice) Welcome Mixer, will bring the music and culture of Latino students to Thunderground at 3:30 p.m. today.
“The biggest thing is we want to be inclusive. If someone doesn’t identify as Mexican or Hispanic, they shouldn’t be afraid to join and learn more about the culture,” said Leo Quintero, the club’s advisor and GCU’s technology change program manager. “The big question we ask is what defines a Latino? Last year, we focused on dance and music.”
Even with a large percentage of GCU students who identify as Latino, there is an adjustment coming to campus for the first time, said Quintero, a 2019 GCU graduate who was once president of the club.
“They grow up in very Hispanic schools, their family is Hispanic, so when they come to campus, it is a cultural shock,” he said. “They are not smelling their mom’s cooking, they don’t have the sense of family, as the Latino family is very close. So you see people have a sparkle in their eyes when they come to the club. They see people who look like them, who listen to the same music, and they have that sense of family.”
He met his wife, Reyba Calcano-Quevedo, at the club. “Most of the people in my wedding were from the club. We met as freshman and lived together as sophomores, so there is that sense of family.”
Two other clubs featured will be the Sports and Entertainment Business Club at 6:30 p.m. today and the Modern Boardgamers Guild at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, both in the Riverbed.
The Club and Community Fair in the Canyon Activities Center, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Friday, is the big event to sample many of the 110 clubs set up at tablings – with more clubs expected as they are approved early in the semester.
Some of the new clubs are the Sacred Languages Club, which studies languages in the Bible, the Physical and Mental Disability Alliance, and new this year are graduate student clubs, including the African American Doctoral Support Group and the Global Justice Advocates Club, geared to counseling graduate students.
Ryan Anger, vice president of the Sacred Languages Club and a mechanical engineering technology student, said he has noticed an interest among students in ancient Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic and the cultural contexts of biblical people. "The Sacred Languages Club presents a unique space to foster this interest and provide a platform for students to explore these subjects in a collaborative and supportive environment."
The Real Estate Club is also new, advised by Colangelo College of Business professor Tim Kelley, who has owned an international commercial real estate brokerage, a construction company, mortgage bank and numerous residential rentals.
The club will feature multiple guest speakers from each part of the real estate industry and include weekly meetings.
“When real estate represents a significant portion and foundation to the modern economy, it is critical that we as CCOB do as much as possible to bring access of the industry to our students,” Kelley said.
For a list of clubs go here.
While many of them have that academic thrust, Castillo has seen a real growth in social clubs to bring together students with common leisure interests. They are called affinity clubs because students have an affinity for a specific niche activity. (Think Medieval Combat Club, featured last year in GCU News).
“I love seeing students have unique passions and how excited they are to talk about them,” Castillo said. “It makes me excited. I feel like now I have all these side passions,” she said. “But each one is really great.”
Grand Canyon University senior writer Mike Kilen can be reached at [email protected]
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