How to Get Involved on Campus

As a college student, it may be hard to know how to get involved on campus. What clubs can students join? How can a student know what events are happening on campus? What is a good first step for Bluefield University students to get involved?

BU’s Katie McDaniel, coordinator of student care and administrative assistant for Student Development, said that social media is a good place to start. The first social media link to follow, she said, would be bu_studentdevelopment on Instagram, which tells of upcoming student events. 

Another good place to check is BU student emails. McDaniel, Mason West (campus pastor), and Emily Cook (director of counseling, wellness and student success) send out emails before events happen so students know about events beforehand. McDaniel emails about events in the Quad on Wednesdays after chapel services, West emails about ministry events, and Cook emails about wellness events. 

BU students can also join clubs and organizations on campus. McDaniel mentioned a few different club options for students, including:

• Student Activities Leadership Team (SALT): students help plan free or reduced-cost events for all students.
• Student Government Association (SGA): club members represent BU students and inform college administration on student needs, and foster leadership roles for students.
• Bluefield University Student Ministries (BUSM): students help organize Bible studies, mission trips, and other ministry projects.
• ResLife: if students want to become a resident assistant for their dorm.

The next way to get involved is with BU athletics. Even if a person does not play a sport, they still have the opportunity to support their classmates who are athletes. Attending a sporting event not only helps to support your university, but it also helps students to form a connection with their classmates. One incentive to attending a sporting event is that BU students get free admission for all BU home games. Whether a person is into volleyball or football, as long as it is a home game, students get free admission when they present their student ID at the door. Students can learn the dates and times of sporting events by visting burams.com. 

If a student isn’t on top of BU social media posts or checking their student email, there are some events that Student Development hosts on certain days of the week. On Wednesdays after chapel service, there is normally something going on in the Quad, from crafts to corn hole. Also, wellness events are usually on Tuesdays and Fridays. Students can also get involved in BU ministries by attending chapel services on Wednesday mornings at 10:30 or Home worship services on Monday evenings at 7 p.m. in the Student Activities Center (SAC).

McDaniel and the rest of the Student Development team are also working on future projects to improve student life on campus. One future project is to install TVs in the cafeteria where sporting events can be broadcast during late night dinners. Another project McDaniel is working on is restarting sororities and fraternities on campus. When McDaniel was a student, she was president of Alpha Delta, and she wants to restart the sorority as a way for students to participate in community service and possibly team up with student ministries for outreach in the community, as well. 

There are many different ways for BU students to get involved on campus. As McDaniel put it, “There’s something going on for everybody to get involved.” If students want more information on activities or how to join a club, then the following contacts will get them started: 

• Student Ministries: Mason West mwest@bluefield.edu
• SALT or SGA: Katie McDaniel klmcdaniel@bluefield.edu
• ResLife: Keira Brown kbrown@bluefield.edu.

Students can also follow BU social media at:

Instagram
bluefield_university
bu_studentdevelopment
bu_campusministries

Twitter (X)
@blfduniversity
@BluefieldRams

Facebook
@bluefielduniversity
@Bluefield University Athletics

YouTube
@BluefieldUniversity