Lone Star College-CyFair’s Student Life team has responded to the COVID-19 by developing social, educational, recreational and wellness events through web-based programs and social media.
“Generally speaking, Student Life is an important component of the college experience,” said Dan Mitsven, LSC-CyFair’s Student Life Director. “Through national research, backed up by participation reports at LSC-CyFair, we know that students who are involved tend to have higher GPAs and persistence rates. Students involved in Student Life are more successful!”
Although the college campus is currently closed, it is still important that our students find ways to be engaged with one another and with the college, he said. LSC-CyFair’s student organizations and club are taking advantage of free technology (Zoom, MS Teams, Discord, etc.) to continue meeting and celebrating.
For example, the Chess Club has held several five- and 10-minute e-tournaments; the Student Activities Board has hosted a pet photo challenge, tag-a-friend Instagram challenge and held officer elections; and the Student Government Association (SGA) hosted a virtual meeting to give and get information, share concerns and ask questions.
The LSC-CyFair chapter of the National Society of Leadership and Success (NCLS) is a new organization designed to help students develop skills to become good leaders; critical thinkers, collaborators and impactful citizens while developing confidence, personal growth, and self-awareness. The NCLS’s 103 inaugural members had a successful year and will celebrate 116 new inductees with an “Insta-duction” in which students will be encouraged to post on Instagram (and other social media) showing off their awards.
The opportunity to be involved in Recreational Sports still exists with a variety of events offered through Discord, said Recreational Sports Manager Tiffany Lane.
“Our students’ well-being is our mission and is what drives our programming. We know when students are physically, socially, emotionally and intellectually rounded, they are more likely to be successful academically and personally,” she said. “We are looking for E-board members for our student-led Recreational Events Committee (The REC) to plan, organize and engage students through recreational and wellness events.”
Rec Sports is currently offering students such events virtually with Movie and Music Mondays, Tournament Tuesdays, Wellness Wednesdays, and Fitness Fridays. Students can also participate in the Walking Challenge and Virtual Bingo.
Mitsven said they learned promoting their events through email has gotten better response than social media, so his team developed a weekly Student Life email update. One of the recent fun events on that update was “Tourism Week” featuring virtual tours of Yosemite National Park, Marineland Dolphin Adventure, the Sistine Chapel and the The Amazon Rainforest.
“We’ve also learned that some of the tools we are using to adapt to a virtual environment will be beneficial when we return back to normal, for example expansion of our eSports program, use of WebEx to supplement attendance at SGA meetings, and better promotion through social media,” said Mitsven. “The Student Life team really misses working with our students face-to-face, but know that we’re still working hard behind the scenes, so stay involved!”
For information on becoming a student club board member or participating in numerous events coming up, including the annual LSC-CyFair’s Got Talent Show, go to LoneStar.edu/student-activities-cyfair