Several Greek banners hang along the balcony of the MUC. JUNO VON PALKO | THE ALL STATE
On Friday, August 23, APSU held a Campus Resource Fair in the MUC lobby.
Various organizations and student centers on campus gathered to promote their resources and availability to new students on campus. Many of them gave out items, such as whistles and pamphlets. Each table had a representative from their designated center.
Examples of centers present for the event include the Hispanic Cultural Center, Boyd Health Services, Student Life & Engagement, the Military Student Center and the Wilbur N. Daniel African American Cultural Center.
There were several tables dedicated to campus fraternities and sororities. One table held a Meet Our Fraternities, which introduced students to fraternity groups such as Alpha Gamma Rho, Kappa Sigma and Sigma Chi.
Another table, headed by Greta Heinzelman, promoted the Panhellenic Council. Heinzelman has been recruited for the Panhellenic Council since the fall of 2016. The Panhellenic Council is the governing body of six sororities on campus, those being Alpha Gamma Delta, Alpha Delta Pi, Alpha Omicron Pi, Alpha Sigma Alpha, Sigma Kappa and Chi Omega.
“Each chapter has their own sisterhood, but because we’re a council, we’re all united,” said Heinzelman. “All six sororities are like a big extended family.”
The Panhellenic Council oversees recruitment and philanthropy. Each chapter raises money for a nonprofit organization, doing fundraising and community service as their way of giving back to the community.
“Our main purpose is to empower women,” said Heinzelman. “Most of these organizations were founded during a time when women were not allowed to go to school or were the very first to go to school. Our founders paved the way for us, and our purpose now is to pave the way for future generations. We want women to have the best future possible because our founders set that foundation for us.”
Another table promoted the campus ministry, Tapestry. Tapestry is an all-inclusive Bible study. It is open to people from all faith backgrounds. Reverend Katie Woodard has been with Tapestry for four years, and the Wesley Foundation has been affiliated with APSU for almost 50 years.
“So, we do three small groups a week,” said Woodard. “We do a small Bible study to share how our week is going and what’s been going on. Our main point is to talk about how much God loves us and cares about us.”
Woodard said the purpose of Tapestry is “to have community around our religious faith or lack thereof.”
“I know that God loves each of these students,” said Woodard. “And I want each of them to understand that.”
Jonell Nicholson works for Student Affairs under the Center for Service Learning and Community Engagement. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s from APSU and has worked here for ten years.
“I absolutely love the students here,” said Nicholson. “I am a strong people person, so I really like getting out there and encouraging students’ success. That’s one thing that the Center for
Service Learning offers is opportunities to volunteer and do different services so that they can keep their scholarship and they can get their Tennessee Promise hours.”
Jonell Nicholson promotes the importance of working with students and encouraging good values in them.
“There’s nothing more important than watching a student succeed,” said Nicholson. It’s sort of like they come in as Freshmen, and then they turn around and you watch them walk the graduation line. It’s almost like being a proud parent sometimes, especially if you have been building a friendship with that student.”
