New semester, new classes and hopefully some new friends — or even new members to your Her campus chapters! Last semester, I shared 5 Events that my chapter either wanted to do, or did, to help everyone feel connected alongside tips as I am the events director for my chapter. Now I’m back with 5 more completely virtual events with tips!
Escape Room
My chapter is hosting one of these this semester and we’re super excited! To start, you can sift through some free ones online to see if there are any that catch your eye. If not, use these as inspiration and make your own through Google Slides or a Google Form. When making your own, you could customize it to topics that you and your friends are interested in and make it as long as you’d like! This event would be great for team building/bonding.
Tips: Use Zoom breakout rooms if that is your primary source of connection! If doing it with a big group rather than just your closest friends, I would set up breakout rooms at random to help people build new connections. There is also a newer feature on Zoom that allows participants to choose what breakout room they go into. Using this, you could use several escape rooms to give people options. Also, make sure you go through the escape room beforehand. Whether you’re using one you find online or you make your own, you need to make sure you know how the room functions and have the answers in case anyone gets stuck. If you’re making your own, I would highly recommend having someone else look over it to ensure everything makes sense and runs smoothly on a different device.
Game Night
Game nights never get old as long as you mix up what game you’re playing. Some ideas for game nights are Among Us, Mafia, Pictionary or even trying to incorporate some of your other favorite games into a virtual setting.
Tips: The pick your-own-breakout rooms could also come in handy here by allowing people to switch between rooms if they start to get bored. Plan this out ahead of time to make sure you are able to explain any game to those who don’t know how to play. Also, be sure you have a backup plan! For example, my chapter decided to play Among Us since we didn’t have many people show up, but some of us couldn’t get in and so, we had to switch to All Bad Cards — keep this in mind when you’re planning! Also, keep in mind how many people you will be having and the range of how many people are needed in each game.
Mock Elections
Whether it be with your friend group or your chapter, mock elections are great for the end of the school year. For this, just set up a google form and make awards in Canva or a similar service. You can even have this be a part of another event, such as a whole end-of-semester gathering. With all of these events, you’ll get out of it what you put into it!
Group Destresser
Any sort of destressing event would be great either right now or right before finals. A group yoga session could be fun — first start by trying to find a yoga instructor on YouTube or ask if anyone in the group is a yoga guru. You may even consider hiring someone. Other ideas could include group journaling exercises or group study hours.
Tips: Every activity should be fun but for a de-stressing event as you don’t want to be playing a super intense game or something super hectic. You want to keep it fun. Also, make sure if you’re hosting a de-stressing event that you keep things under control for the people who take it seriously. With the right planning, you could leave members feeling calm and connected.
Pet night
This is exactly as it sounds — just plan a night for everyone to introduce their pets! For this, you can make it more fun but showcasing their favorite hobbies, any talents or doing awards at the end. For this, just start on the basis of meeting everyone’s fur babies and expand on that as you wish.
Bonus Idea: Have themed events — even if it is just a group video chat or a normal meeting. PJ nights, formal nights, favorite color, favorite band, costumes, anything that will help everyone feel more connected. For people with zero social interaction, they might really be looking for an excuse to dress up!
You need to find ways to stay connected with your friends, clubs and other organizations. We’re nearing a year since lockdown started, and I have had the luxury of being able to return to work and seeing some friends and family safely, but others might not have that luxury. Remember to make the most out of these events. Don’t focus on the fact that they’re only virtual, use it to your advantage!