Program Board

When looking for a new RSO on campus to join, I stumbled upon Program Board. I had always noticed the PB logo on the activities flyers on campus and had been told by many people how fun it was, so I decided to go to a meeting. Upon walking in, I was greeted by many different people and felt instantly welcomed into this new club.

Program Board is an organization on CMU’s campus that plans different events and entertainment acts to allow students to get involved on campus. The mission statement for this wonderful RSO is to “provide diverse entertainment and programs for free or at an affordable cost to CMU students and community members.”

Program Board planned so many different activities on campus this year, and all of them were major hits. Some of these events included:

• Canvas and Coffee (painting a design on a canvas while drinking coffee and getting to know other students in the process)
• Multiple comedy shows
• Magic shows
• CMU’s Spring Concert (s/o to Public and Jesse McCartney)
• Movie showings with popcorn and other snacks
• Trivia Nights
• Up All Night (an all-campus event that takes place from 11pm-3am that allows students to snag tons of free food, play games, enter in raffles, run around in bounce houses, dance to music, tie-dye shirts, and rollerskate)
• Safer Sex Patrol (going to bars and informing people about safe sex)
• Maroonzie (a music and arts festival in the spring for CMU students that includes free food, henna tattoos, live music, paintings, and photo booths)

Program Board is a really great opportunity to make connections with others and get involved on campus. Because everyone in the club is super outgoing and the members really care about another, the environment is incredibly welcoming. We started each meeting off with an icebreaker to get everyone chatting, and then later addressed any birthdays of any members and talked about any events we had coming up. The people in this RSO really make each other feel valued, and they really want to get to know everyone and their interests.

RSO

An RSO is a Registered Student Organization on CMU’s campus. These organizations are clubs with scheduled meetings, and there are many options to choose from. I joined FAMD (Fashion Association of Merchandising and Design) first semester. This RSO focuses on fashion and the fashion industry. At the meetings, speakers from different parts of the fashion world come in and speak. Some of the speakers included managers from many different stores including Buckle and Kohls. Personally, my favorite speaker was Kathryn Konarska from Kathryn Ann Bridal. Kathryn came in with her husband and explained her entire journey as an intern in the fashion industry. She moved multiple times and was interning in New York City before deciding to move back to Michigan. She later created her own brand of wedding dresses and veils and has boutiques all across Michigan.

FAMD also dedicates a lot of time focusing on the campus-wide fashion show, Threads. Threads is a student-run fashion show held on April 22, 2017. Different designers get to show off their work and gain experience in designing, marketing, and fashion production. Threads is a big deal for people majoring in Fashion Merchandising and Design, and many of CMU’s students are able to model the clothing designed for the fashion show. Each year, Threads is focused on a different theme. Students dedicate so much time into the fashion show, and they are able to learn all about proper walks, stage lighting, makeup, and more.

Allie and I at the FAMD banquet

 

Another RSO I was involved with was Barnes and Robinson Hall Council. Meetings were every Monday, and we discussed upcoming events in the Barnes and Robinson community. Each week had a different theme, and if you dressed like the theme, you would earn points for your floor. Each week, I would learn about new activities that were going on that I could attend. Members could also have a say in any problems or issues that would go on in the halls, and I liked being able to meet different people from the Robinson community or people on the floors I didn’t live on. Hall Council helped inform me and make me aware of events happening and allowed me to learn more about the North Campus community.

LAS in the D: My Experience

Going into this trip, I was excited. I knew it would be an awesome weekend, and I knew I would gain so much from it. Little did I know I would be experiencing one of the coolest, most influential trips I have ever been on.

Visiting Jalen Rose Leadership Academy was the first stop on the trip. We arrived at the school and got separated into groups with the leadership students. We played a few icebreakers with our new friends, and we wrote down things that we wanted to accomplish while we were there for the day. Some of the things we put on our list included using teamwork, being respectful, and communicating with one another. The students opened up really quickly, and I was super excited to continue on with our day.

After splitting up into separate classrooms with our groups, we did an activity that required us to figure out a pre-made pattern to get across the “lava” to the other side of the volcano (the other side of the room). Every time someone made a wrong step, we had to restart and go back to the starting line. It was really awesome to see the students take charge and try to figure out the pattern, and we worked together to discover the correct sequence to get across.

Next, we moved into a different room to take on another activity. This activity involved a ball on a circle of plastic with many strings tied around the plastic. To complete this activity, we had to pick up the ball by using the strings and carry it to the other side of room to place it on top of a pole. If we dropped the ball, we had to go back to the starting line to try again. This activity was very trial-and-error oriented, and we tested many different strategies before completing it. Our winning tactic was to slide the ball over to the pole and then get as close as we could to the center, while still holding the strings. We pulled the ball up and got it on top of the pole, and everyone was super excited that we were able to complete the challenge. After the activities were over, we debriefed for a little bit. We talked about what strategies worked and which ones didn’t work, how we used communication and teamwork, and how we stepped outside of our comfort zones to take on something. One of the students asked us when we were coming back, and when we told him we’d be back in a year, he said to “please hurry.” It was so inspiring to see how much the students at Jalen Rose loved the activities, and it made me really think about the impact you can make on someone without even knowing.

After leaving Jalen Rose, we headed over to Quicken Loans to go on a tour of the building and to eat dinner. We all sat down and ate, and we were later shown a presentation about Quicken Loans and all of the opportunities and internships the company offers. John Fikany spoke to us for a while, and seeing his passion towards the company really made me think about applying for a summer internship. We then were split into groups and were shown around the building. The Quicken Loans building was amazing- it was so colorful and all of the workers were super friendly. I loved exploring around the company and seeing all of the different branches in the building.

The Quicken Loans tour soon ended, and we headed over to the Detroit Institute of Arts. I was super excited for this part, because the DIA is one of my favorite places. There’s just something about going to an art museum and exploring around and admiring the art that makes me so happy. I got to walk around the museum with my roommates, and we were able to check out all of the different pieces and rooms before going to the little cafe inside.

At around 9:00 P.M., we all went to the Outdoor Adventure Center to debrief the day and get some rest. After exploring the waterfall and nature inside the building, we met with our groups and talked about everything we did on the trip thus far. It was awesome to reflect back on the day and talk about how inspired and excited we were about the activities and workshops. The discussion ended at around 10:30 P.M., and we all went to get ready for bed. Instead of going to sleep, we decided to circle up and share our passions and talk about our lives. It was really cool learning about everyone, and (in my opinion), I think it brought us even closer than we already were. When it got pretty late, I curled up in my sleeping bag next to my roommates and went to sleep.

We started the next day off bright and early. After eating breakfast, we got on the bus and traveled to Cass Community Social Services. Cass is an agency in Detroit that provides food, shelter, and jobs to members of the community. We were split up into groups when we arrived, and each group had the opportunity to do something different. My group walked over to the green warehouse, and we took on the job of breaking down tons of cardboard boxes and shredding papers to get the warehouse cleaned up for spring. This building was awesome because it was powered by spinning bikes. Whenever we wanted to take a break from shredding, we would ride the spinning bikes to give the warehouse energy. Our group leader, Mark, was super outgoing and played awesome music while we broke down the boxes. I loved this part of the trip because I got to work with my cohort and gain new experiences while helping out the community.

We got on the bus to head to Great Lakes Crossing for lunch at around 11:00 A.M. This was the last part of the trip, and we all settled on the bus to head back to CMU in the afternoon. Most of us fell asleep immediately after sitting down, but some us jammed out to old songs and sang for a little bit.

Now What? This trip was one of the most amazing opportunities I’ve been able to be a part of. It’s crazy how much of an impact you can make on someone/something, and going on this trip opened my eyes to the issues around me and inspired me to want to get out there and do something to help my community. Detroit is an amazing city, and it doesn’t deserve the reputation and stereotypes it receives. This trip gave me the initiative to want to reach out and help the wonderful city. I absolutely loved volunteering at Cass Community Social Services because I was able to work with others and clean up the warehouse for the upcoming spring and summer and create energy by riding the spinning bikes. The Quicken Loans tour gave me inspiration to go out and do whatever I wanted to do because I am a leader and I am capable of achieving wonderful things. This trip  was so inspiring and was one of my favorite activities of the entire year. I am so grateful to be a part of LAS and I will never forget the amazing experiences, memories, and opportunities I’ve gained from this trip.

Mentor/Mentee Retreat

On September 10th, 2016, I hopped on a bus with my LAS cohort and the sophomore cohort above us. We headed over to Eagle Village in Hersey, Michigan for the weekend. After hanging out for a little bit, we presented the “Road Map” life timeline project that we were required to create before retreat. Later on, we were required to do a list of team building activities. We were assigned a certain group, and we stuck with that group for the weekend. After a long day of stressful events, we all gathered around a campfire to make s’mores and give “shoutouts” to our friends and mentors. This was my favorite part of the night, because it really showed how genuine these people are. Everyone was opening up and showing their true feelings, and it was amazing to see everyone’s different personalities.

The next morning, we had some free times to climb rock walls and hang out. It was my first time climbing a rock wall, so I was as nervous as ever. It also didn’t help that I was afraid of heights! As I was climbing the wall, I was about to give up because I thought I couldn’t climb any higher. The mentors and mentees on the ground below me kept urging me to go higher and were cheering me on, so I got a burst of adrenaline and kept climbing. I felt so awesome once I reached my goal, and I was so happy that I was able to get over my fear of heights (for a little bit, at least). After rock climbing, we went back to our team building activities. These activities were stressful and required teamwork and concentration. For one of the activities, the requirement was to take two PVC pipes and a golf ball and get the ball to the other side of the room without it falling onto the ground. This activity took our group two hours to complete. Yeah, you read that right- TWO HOURS. Everyone was getting extremely frustrated that the ball kept falling onto the ground, so our group leader offered us the option to give up and move on to the next activity. My group wasn’t ready to accept failure, and we continued the activity for a while longer. Finally, after several (and I do mean several) tries, we got the ball to the other side of the room. My entire group started screaming and running around, and we all were ecstatic that we kept trying and finally achieved our goal.

After the team building events, we moved on to the High Ropes course. As I mentioned before, I really hate heights. I was nervous to participate in the course, but I decided to do it because I wanted to gain a new experience and I was hoping to learn something new out of it. After saddling up and putting our helmets on, I climbed up the ladder with my mentor, Faith, and my LAS “brother”, Markus. The very first course I did involved crawling across a rope, and I instantly fell off and had to work my way back to the platform. Every time I fell off, someone would cheer me on and tell me that I could make it to the end of the course. Each course required various skills and determination, and it was extremely tiring. Not to mention, the course was around 50 feet off the ground. Once again, heights- not my thing.  Though I fell off multiple times, I was pleasantly surprised by the outcome of the ropes course. I learned new skills and got to step out of my comfort zone and try something new.

Now What? Retreat was something I’ll always remember, and I loved getting to bond with new friends from my cohort that I didn’t get to talk to very often. The event taught me many skills, and really showed me what leadership is about. I can’t wait to make even more connections with people within my cohort and experience many new things with them. I am excited to develop new skills and show everyone the leader I can be. I am so thankful that I was able to connect with genuine, kindhearted people, and learn new skills that I can use for the rest of my life.

Check out this awesome Retreat video for a recap of our weekend!