Club Fair 2023 Welcomes Back Students
Despite the threat of rain, this year’s Club Fair at Medgar Evers College wound up benefiting from both agreeable weather and a healthy turnout. Held every year on the third Wednesday in September, Club Fair is way to welcome new and returning students. This year’s event featured 73 organizations setting up tables and included the NYPD Cadet Corps, the SGA (Student Government Association), Medgar Evers College SEEK Program, the Center for Law & Social Justice, the Transition Academy, and the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. For Amani Reece, who organized the Club Fair as the director of Office of Student Life and Development, this annual event is not only a way for the MEC community to come together in a relaxed and festive atmosphere, but a way for new and returning students to get a full scope of what they can get from their educational experience outside of the classroom.
“I think the great part about this is how we have students, clubs and organizations, faculty and staff coming together along with our community partners,” she said. “That’s very important because you don’t want the students to just know about the resources we have in the college, but what is in and around the community that they can activate and have access to. It’s our way of welcoming our students back to campus. Those that are new—we’re giving them that family hug and saying, ‘Here is what we have to offer.’ It’s also very important to show them that part of the college experience is engaging outside of the classroom—that’s very important.”
Among the organizations signing members up was the Mass Communication Department, under which a number of student clubs operate under its umbrella. Assistant professor Jade Robertson was encouraged by the turnout and the chance to be able to build community with the other clubs represented at Club Fair while sharing the opportunities provided by the Mass Communications, Creative & Performing Arts & Speech Department.
“Our BFAs focus in performance and media,” Robertson said. “We have 12 within our department like visual arts, dance, multi-media—we have broadcasting and visual arts, so a lot of our BFA students also participate in our clubs as well, which are also open to the college. The great thing about the multi-media club is not only do we have dance, but we are filmmakers. We made a film that got into the Cannes Film Festival and it will be shown in Korea, Texas and internationally. We’re right here in the Carroll Building in Room 233.”
One of those clubs actively recruiting at their table was the M.E.C. AllStars Dance Team, which was founded in October 22 by five members. While the group has been whittled down to three, Captain Genesis Marcell was encouraged by the turnout and interest in her group, particularly given the broad range of dance expertise her group has.
“We do majorette, hip-hop, Caribbean, African, tap, ballet—everything,” Marcell said. “We’ve been getting a lot of people today that are interested because I don’t think people know we’re here.”
One group offering plenty of opportunity for interested students is the National Association of Black Accountants (NABA). The MEC chapter currently numbers between 30 to 40 active members according to NABA Assistant Treasurer Chanelle Fuller, who was quick to point out how NABA not only plans general meetings, but office visits with the Big Four Accounting firms like DeLoitte, KPMG and PwC [PricewaterhouseCoopers].
“We offer benefits that include networking opportunities, scholarships and job opportunities,” Fuller explained. “Accounting internships are very competitive and even though Medgar Evers College is affordable, students can still earn scholarships from NABA given all the connections with big partners we have. We do provide accommodations or funding for the conventions that NABA itself has for students and professionals, where they can definitely benefit from networking.”
