Into the second week of classes, on Tuesday, August 25, 2015, new and continuing students took time to attend Thomas Jefferson's biannual Student Organization Fair. The interactive fair, held on the fifth floor in the student org room, exposed students to over 30 organizations spanning a variety of interests.
Attending for the first time, students like Crystal Dumbleton (1L) and Rashida Gordon (1L) were quickly welcomed into the Thomas Jefferson family. “Everyone is friendly and open about their organizations. I have a lot of interests, I haven’t decided which ones to join but I got a lot of information so I’m excited,” Dumbleton said. “It’s important for 1L’s to get involved in orgs as it is great way to make a seemingly large community smaller and increase the comfort level of being in a totally new environment,” Gordon added.
Shahidah Lacy (3L), President of Students for Reproductive Health, encouraged students to join several orgs, “If you get involved your first year you’ll know all the great things the orgs have to offer. Your second year you can make better decisions about what orgs you want to be involved in. Then by the time you’re in your third year you can be on the board of the organizations you are passionate about, meet people and effect change in the community.”
Org representatives, like APALSA’s Co-Presdient William Reno (3L), emphasized to students the practical benefits of joining orgs, “APALSA is two things, it’s a resource group and a support group. We are an important resource because we provide outlines for 1Ls, 2Ls and even some of the 3Ls. This year the board is committed to help the 1Ls beat that first year curve. We’re doing our best to team up with La Raza and BALSA to be able to give them the tools and teach them the study habits they need to succeed. We also do networking events and panels that help students familiarize themselves with a range of fields.”
Overall the fair was a great success. “We’re all really excited about all the new students coming out to join,” said Katelynn Meidl (3L) President of Student Animal Legal Defense Fund.
