Activities plentiful for students on campus

By Jared Shuff
Staff writer

College activities let students interact and make connections with people they may not see on a daily basis. These connections could be vital in the future, or just be the start of an amazing friendship. Either way, these activities are experiences students will only have once.

The only problem – many students at Hutchinson Community College don’t even know these activities are going on. Students need to know how to stay updated on activities around campus and why they should be involved in them.

“College activities allow students to really build a connection with the staff, their peers, and the entire community,” said Ryan Diehl, HutchCC curriculum/program improvement coordinator. “There is much to be learned from being involved.”

Diehl is also head of the honors program.

Michelle Wortham from the Student Success Center also had some reasons as to why college activities are so important.

“They are a great way to develop interpersonal skills,” Wortham said. “Kids need time to expel energy in a positive way.”

However, the only way to reap the rewards of these activities is to actually go. Many students don’t know what activities are going on, let alone when they take place.

“We are relying mainly on emails and posters to spread the word,” Diehl said.

He said he believes that social media, especially Twitter, is the best place to start sharing activity information.

Signs for activities can be found across campus, and certain television screens also share information on upcoming events. Students can also keep track of their DragonZone accounts for additional information.

“We would be happy to hear other ways to keep students informed,” Wortham said.

One activity coming up is “Wellness Rocks!”, an 80’s/90’s themed Health and Wellness Fair on Sept. 26 from 8:30 a.m.-1 p.m.

The Reno County Heart Walk is also coming up on Sept. 29, where they will have a one-mile and a three-mile walk, a kid’s zone, snacks, free blood pressure tests, and even Zumba.

Students can visit Jolene Williamson in Human Resources to purchase raffle tickets for the heart walk. Tickets are a dollar each, or five for three dollars. Students have a chance to win a fire pit or a $50 gift card to a Hutchinson restaurant of their choice.

“We want students involved,” Williamson said. “The more we can do to involve students the better”

Later activities include Homecoming, a Halloween dance, Student Treat Day, and a Tacky Sweater 5K in December.

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