“Just SHU It Fair” Continues 20-Year Tradition

Going on year 20, Sacred Heart University kicked off the 2022 school year with the “Just SHU It” fair. With the help of the Student Engagement and Involvement Office, the fair was hosted on Sept. 1 in the quad at Pioneer Village. 

The “Just SHU It” fair invites students to get involved on campus and meet fellow classmates that share similar interests and passions. 

“The fair hosted all undergraduate clubs and organizations from all eight club categories, as well as social and academic fraternities and sororities, campus resource offices, and student programs such as Performing Arts and Club Sports and Recreation,” said Alexander Barkley, Director of Student Engagement and Involvement. 

With over 100 tables at the fair, students had multiple opportunities to “Just SHU It.” 

“Being involved on campus is an important and wonderful part of the college experience and we want to make it as easy as possible,” said Barkley. 

Although this fair is a tradition, the “Just SHU It” fair is always evolving. 

“The fair this year was different as we looked more holistically at student involvement, and expanded the number of clubs/organizations present,” said Barkley. “We also changed locations and grouped all groups together by categories with colors to make it easier to find particular types.” 

Aside from these changes, there were also new technological features added to the fair. 

“Students were able to use and see SHU Engage, which is a new online platform designed to make it easier for students to become involved with clubs/organizations,” said Barkley. “Students were able to sign up directly for clubs and organizations on the spot and can continue to do so as they please.” 

Senior Hannah Alexanian, President of the Exercise Science Club and Vice President of the Pre-Physical Therapy Club, found the fair to be beneficial for student involvement and networking. 

“The fair creates more of a memorable connection between the club’s e-board and potential new club members,” said Alexanian. “As an officer of two academic clubs, this more personal connection formed by a face-to-face conversation is comforting and helps provide potential resources for tutors, Classroom Learning Assistants (CLAs), and recommendations.” 

Freshmen are required to attend the fair by their First Year Experience class instructors. 

“The ‘Just SHU It’ fair allowed me to see what kind of options in terms of clubs Sacred Heart offered,” said freshman Ava Russo. “I did sign up for a few clubs, but there were a few empty tables where a club was supposed to be, which disappointed me because one of them was actually a club I was interested in.” 

Aside from attending the fair, Russo mentioned her own ways to expand the fair for upcoming years. 

“I think something that they could do for next year is have a table set up with information to start our own club in case we want to introduce something that is not there already,” said Russo. 

For those in the SHU community who were unable to attend the fair but are still interested in getting involved on campus, visit SHU Engage at shuengage.sacredheart.edu.

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