Incoming freshmen took a break from the sweltering heat Wednesday to discover their niche at UCA’s annual Conway Daze.
Inside the air-conditioned HPER Center, vendors, businesses and student organizations shared resources and goods with freshmen, helping introduce new students to Conway.
Freshman exercise science major Julia Hogue said Conway Daze made her feel more informed about the community.
“We are walking into this new environment without knowing a whole lot, so it’s good for us to experience this so we can learn about all UCA has to offer,” Hogue said.
While moving somewhere new can be daunting, a diverse array of registered student organizations helps invite students of various demographics into welcoming environments on campus.
Allies in STEM, an RSO dedicated to promoting LGBTQ+ diversity in STEM, was one such example.
Junior environmental science major and president of Allies in STEM, David Adams said, “We want to just show queer folk that there are safe spaces for them to gather, especially in STEM, where it can be isolating.”
“It’s really fulfilling to see people’s eyes light up whenever they find their pride flag, especially if it’s not a super common one. Everyone gets really excited and it’s cool to see the joy on people’s faces,” Adams said.
“I think when you come in as a freshman, everything can be kind of overwhelming and so being able to find clubs and RSOs that you’re interested in and finding that community is really helpful,” he added.
Girls Who Code was another RSO at Conway Daze.
Led by junior computer science major Abby Bounds, Girls Who Code is geared toward women and nonbinary students who have an interest in technology.
Bounds said she saw a need for this RSO when she noticed that women were the minority group in many of her computer science classes.
Bounds said after the creation of Girls Who Code, it was the first time in her college career that she got to walk into a classroom full of women.
“It’s really cool to kind of be in a community of people that look like you and have the same interests as you, and that’s sometimes a little bit rare when you’re in the tech space,” Bounds said.
“I was one of those freshmen that had a really hard time making friends on campus. I felt like the only people I knew were who I knew from my hometown, and being in an RSO gave me an opportunity to branch out and make a difference in my major and in my college,” Bounds added.
Gospel-centered liturgical dance group, Devotion in Motion aimed to attract freshmen interest through dance and worship.
The vice president of the organization, health promotion major Jasmine Toney, said her RSO offers students a space to not only spend time with friends but also to connect more with their religion.
Toney said because transferred to UCA, she felt as if she had missed out on opportunities to get involved, but Conway Daze helped her see what UCA had to offer.
“It was really nice to see all of the different options that I had, because it truly is something for everybody. If there isn’t something for you yet, there is a space for you to create that for yourself, and coming to events like this helps you to really see that,” Toney said.
Freshman computer science major Zachary Walter said going to Conway Daze helped to show him student organizations that he had not expected to be interested in.
“There’s a lot of stuff that I hadn’t really considered really delving into, like a newspaper that actually interested me more than I thought it would. So, I guess I’m just kind of opening myself up to more possibilities than what I had originally intended when I came here,” Walter said.
