Five Ways to Kick-Start Your Involvement at FIU (and Love Every Minute of It)

If you were like me, FIU was not your first choice. You dreamed of being anywhere but here and staying there; if only you had the money, right? I had zero Panther Pride and no loyalty to this university. Surprisingly enough, a lot of people shared my sentiment. With FIU being one of the largest commuter schools in the nation, many people find it hard to motivate themselves to get involved or show up to anything FIU related besides class. They think getting involved won’t help them in the long run. Others just have no clue where to start or what to do in order to get that Panther Pride flowing. To those that are going “yup yup that’s me,” I have a little secret to share with you.

Involvement at FIU creates connections with other students and faculty, makes it easier to get recommendation letters, allows you to put more on your resume, connects you to people who can help you get a job, and best of all, makes you love your university!

So sit back, relax, and find out how to get involved!

1. Want to feel community? Join a sorority. While joining a sorority may just look like group of very hyper girls chanting and blowing glitter into cameras, sororities are actually groups of girls who share the same values, who want to be leaders and get involved, who want to find female friends they can count on and share memories with, and who love to blow glitter at cameras and chant (only once in a while). It may be intimidating and scary, but as a girl who has gone through recruitment herself, there is nothing like taking the plunge and ending up finding your home on Bid Day. 
2. Love to dance until your feet can hardly hold you up? Do Dance Marathon. Dance Marathon is an event that raise money for the Children’s Miracle Network. This event basically consists of standing up, dancing, playing games, and having fun for about 12-40 hours in order to celebrate the amount raise by the university that year. The mission statement for Dance Marathon is, “We dance for those who can’t.” If that doesn’t pull at your heartstrings, I don’t know what will. You can either participate as a Dancer or a Morale Captain. If you want to save children’s lives while doing the cha-cha slide, this is the involvement for you.
3. Want to make a difference at FIU? Join the Student Government Association. No, you don’t have to be into politics to join. It does make you feel like Claire Underwood from House of Cards, though. At SGA, you get to say you’re making a difference at FIU one step at a time. SGA is the push behind FIU Expansion, the reason you can use FL Bright Future scholarship money during the summer, and is constantly looking for ways to make FIU more progressive and a better university for its students. You can become a Senator, be a part of the Presidential Cabinet or become an intern and learn your way around first. It’s like a super accessible, mini US government. 
4. Want to help out cancer patients? Do Relay for Life. Nothing is more heart lifting than donating your hair so that a cancer patient could be a little happier. At Relay for Life, student organizations each set up tents and walk around the median behind the Ryder Business building to raise money for cancer treatment and research. Whether you’re on a team or not, it’s fun to go tent-to-tent playing games and buying food, knowing you’re fighting cancer by having fun. Relay for Life has multiple committees and positions you can join if you want to get involved. 
5. Want to be a mentor? Become a Peer Advisor or Panther Camp Facilitator. You get to be a freshman or transfer student’s first impression of FIU. Peer Advisors lead new students around FIU, show them the ropes, and help them sign up for classes. Truth be told, they’re the best part about Orientation. Panther Camp Facilitators are the camp counselors you have always wanted. If you go to Panther Camp, these are the people whose job it is to make sure you’re having fun and meeting new people. The best part? You never really get to miss them since they’re usually some of the most involved people on campus. You see them everywhere. These two positions fall under the Office of Orientation and those who join feel like trail blazers at FIU.

Whether you do one, some or all of these things, I promise you’ll start to feel motivated to make FIU the best it can be. You’ll love your university, expand your horizons, and become the leader you’ve always wanted to be!

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