Recruitment & Freshmen Involvement
Academic Year Kickoff (AYK)Academic Year Kickoff is an exciting welcome to all new engineering students at the University of Pittsburgh, hosted by Pitt ESC. This event serves as an activities fair for engineering organizations, complete with pizza and I <3 Bendedum T-shirts. This is the first chance for Swanson freshmen and transfer students to witness all the incredible ways they can get involved in the engineering community!
1. Why hold a table? Holding a table at AYK provides an efficient, manageable, relaxed environment to recruit many engineers at once. At the beginning of the academic year, most new students are eager to explore new opportunities, so now is the best time to sign-on a large quantity of members for your club. 2. How to reserve a table and spot in the program? All engineering organizations are encouraged to reserve a table at this activities fair on Benedum’s lawn and patio. Look out for the email from [email protected]. Towards the end of spring term, ESC will send out an offer to hold a table. Included will be offers to hold a place in the AYK program. 3. Planning After you have reserved a table and/or place in the program, there are still things to plan for. - Volunteers: Make sure 2 people can hold your table throughout the event. Also, make sure someone is there to set up your table at the beginning and tear it down at the end. -Materials: Posters, brochures, equipment, robots; all of these can help your org stand out. Secure these before the event and arrange transportation for anything large. Plan for a 600-800 student flow. |
Freshmen Involvement in ESCOne of the most important parts of a successful Student Organization is Freshman Involvement. Without youth and an inflow of new students coming in each year, it is hard for your organization to continue to grow to be the best it can be. Sadly, we all have to graduate sometime, and even though we all go out, there is always exciting and intriguing talent on its way into Pitt.
In ESC, instead of having incoming Freshman just be another regular general body member, they are automatically part of their own Freshman Committee. This committee, for freshman, by freshman and basically run by freshman, especially for the spring semester, gives the newcomers a great opportunity to get involved right away. Students get to plan their own events, such as Fall Fest, Midterm Review Sessions, Thanksgiving Potluck Lunch, Academic Rush and many more! This lets students dabble in everything from advertising to ordering catered food to communicating with administrators and their peers. With this taste of what organizations do every time an event is planned, the freshman are more likely to be comfortable doing things on their own going into their Sophomore, Junior and Senior years. Not only does having a Freshman Committee allow freshman to grow and get valuable experience, it allows them to have a voice in an organization that has a lasting impact on the school, at such an early time in their college career. This impact that Freshman have in only their first two semesters is a great recruiting tool as well. They feel as if they are part of something bigger than themselves, and for someone who is looking to get involved in clubs and activities in their first year, this unique opportunity to make a difference draws them in." |