Year eight of the Arkansas Tech University Involvement Fair was the biggest one yet.
A record 147 informational booths representing on-campus organizations and departments as well as businesses and non-profit organizations from the community were available for ATU students at the corners of West L Street and North El Paso Avenue in Russellville on Monday, Aug. 19.
Kevin Solomon, ATU associate dean for campus life, was integral in envisioning the event when it debuted in 2012. He sat under the ATU Department of Campus Life tent at Involvement Fair 2019 and watched as students from every walk of life learned more about their university and their community.
“It’s not just a freshman thing,” said Solomon. “The first girl that won (a door prize) tonight said she’s been coming for four years and she had never won. She was so excited. The students love talking to the people in the booths, and the community response has been great. They love being out here with the students. It’s a really good event, and I’m proud of our staff and the work we put into it. It has grown to become a tradition. This kicks everything off.”
Ian Bryan, commercial banker with Arvest Bank, was among the members of the business community on hand to welcome ATU students to Russellville.
“There are so many (ATU) students who come out here,” said Bryan. “We just want to be a part of the community and a part of the university. There are probably 2,000 students out here. We’re just happy to be a part of this great event. This is one of the best events that Tech puts on. It’s truly amazing how many students come out here every single year.”
Several of those students were looking for opportunities to volunteer in their community. Rachel Abreu with Community Connections registered more than 30 ATU students to learn about engaging with the children her organization serves.
“We want them to meet our (Community Connections) kids, love on them, help them socialize and make friends,” said Abreu. “For us, the (ATU students) work with kids with special needs, so the Tech students learn how to interact with kids with special needs and people in general. They learn how to make our kids feel loved and accepted, and just to know that we are all part of one big world, one family and we can work together and have fun.”
ATU student Hannah Bean of Clarksville traversed West L Street and North El Paso Avenue spreading word about the benefits of sorority membership during the ATU Involvement Fair.
“Even with the heat, it’s crazy how many people are out here,” said Bean. “It just shows how many people want to be active and involved on our campus.”
Bean was paired with fellow ATU student Emilie Arnold of Harrison. They have both temporarily disaffiliated with their organization to recruit for sorority life in general.
“The community service and the connections you make with people are the best parts of Greek life,” said Arnold. “You make friends across campus with all the events you are involved with. It really gets you out there and out of your comfort zone.”
As the two-hour event was winding down, Garry Young of Dog Ear Books in Russellville was persevering through the relentless heat.
“It’s getting to meet the new students as well as the ones who have been here for a while,” said Young when asked why ATU Involvement Fair is a good investment of time and energy. “Some of them had already been to visit the bookstore, but a lot of them hadn’t heard of it. This is very helpful to get the kids to come out, talk to us and find out where the bookstore is. They’re really a good group of kids. Tech is such a big part of the community, and with the bookstore being downtown, we want to be a part of the community. We have a place for students to come and study, so we like to see them when they are getting ready for finals and things like that.”
