Freshmen bonded at the UCA beach volleyball courts Aug. 29 during a light-hearted match of volleyball.

The match was hosted and refereed by UCA’s Identity Diversity Engagement Awareness Leadership, IDEAL, freshman leadership team.

Team Hotdog and team Bear Claw, both consisting of a combination of freshmen and IDEAL alumni leaders, had a back-and-forth volley filled with music, Gatorade and conversation. 

Alumni Leader Michael Isaac said, “[IDEAL] is a group designed specifically for freshmen to create a connection with other freshmen so they can have friends all four years, because studies show that being connected to people from day one really increases your chances of coming back to college year over year.”

“We create events like this to really get students to buy into the college experience, while also being able to give back to their college community,” Isaac said.

“Even if you don’t talk to the people you came in with every day, when you’re in other clubs and you see them, it really makes you feel more comfortable to engage with them.”

Freshman business major Angelica Conti said she heard about the event from her SOAR session and decided that she wanted to come after meeting members of I.D.E.A.L.

“They just seemed like really fun people, and it seemed like a really good experience. It’ll benefit me in the future,” Conti said.

“I loved meeting all the new people. Apparently, Lydia [Thomas] is in one of my classes. So, it’s cool to see people outside of your class that you don’t really talk to. I love meeting new people, talking to people, getting to know people,” Conti said. 

Lydia Thomas, a freshman psychology major, said she also learned about the event from SOAR.

Thomas said she was interested in attending the volleyball match because she did not have the opportunity to hold club leadership positions while in high school.

“I just want to grow myself and be connected to more freshmen…make more connections and friends,” Thomas said.

Thomas said she was able to make several friends while playing beach volleyball.

“Everyone’s really nice, it’s really nice,” Thomas said.

Thomas said the heat made the evening memorable. 

“It was really hot! I was like ‘Hey, we should name our team “burning feet!”’”

Thomas said she intended to attend IDEAL’s escape room event.

Jelani Davis, a freshman psychology major, said she heard about the event on CubConnect.

Davis said she was able to meet new people by talking with the other people on her team. 

“I used to play volleyball so I wanted to play with some other people.”

Davis, who played volleyball in middle school, said, “I guess just getting back out here reminded me of when I was playing when I was younger. I really just wanted that nostalgic feeling.”

Alumni Leader April Velazquez said IDEAL allows students to make connections with fellow leaders and other clubs.

Tim Bussiere, IDEAL’s student director said, “When I first came to campus, this is where I found my first friendships, friend groups, everything like that.”

“So a lot of people – especially this year you have a lot of freshmen – they come to campus and they don’t know where they’re gonna find their first group of people, right? They don’t know where they are going to find their first connections,” he said.

“When I joined this organization, I didn’t know anybody and what this organization does is it makes you feel like you have a safe space outside of classes,” Bussiere said. “You just have a place to really get away from classes and from responsibilities. You just learn how to better yourself as a leader and as a person and just make friends, make connections.”

IDEAL’s next freshman event will be an escape room at 5 p.m. Sept. 5 in the Ronnie Williams Student Center room 215.

IDEAL will also be hosting a game of Battleship at 5 p.m. Sept. 12 in the HPER Center pool.

For more information about involvement in IDEAL visit uca.edu/lead/ideal/.