PFW’s Backyard BBQ

Eli Jones | Fall 2022

Purdue Fort Wayne’s Student Activities Board held a Campus BBQ event during their Welcome Week activities, where students could participate in food, games, and other activities as long as they had their Student ID, school email, or student number. This event took place in the Science Mall, located in between Neff Hall and the Liberal Arts Building, on Aug. 24 from noon to 3 p.m.

When asked about all of the activities available during the event, James Valez, Director of Student Activities, said, “Food, games, giveaways, and music, are opportunities for students to just hang out with one another and to also get to know each other.”

Valez said the food provided for students were hamburgers, hot dogs, veggie burgers and brats. The meal also came with condiments, chips, pasta salad, and a drink.

Some of the games seen set up throughout the event were ladder ball, spike ball, giant Connect 4, cornhole, and a giant chess board for students to use.

“There are games that people can checkout so they can go play beyond the outdoor, large-scale games that we have,” Valez said.

Nathan Mills, Purdue Fort Wayne Student, said, “I got a hamburger, went and socialized with the cross-country team and just had a good time. We played some games, especially cornhole.”

“When you see all of the tables over there, it’s very specific to try and put chairs out with them so people can sit and meet new people and they can interact with each other.” said Valez.

Valez’s strategy of gathering the student body in one place to share a meal together and to play games with one another, seemed to have worked.

Tanveer Sings, Purdue Fort Wayne Student, said, “I made new friends, and saw a lot of old high school peers too.”

The event attracted a large number of students for the majority of the event, almost exceeding the anticipated number.  A total of 1,032 people attended the event, while the Student Activities Board had only anticipated 1,100 attendees.

“In the first 45 minutes we already had 600 people check in.” said Valez.

While talking about the rest of the Welcome Week events Valez said, “Most of our programs during Campus Kick Off are going to be geared towards our entire student body.”

To stay updated on upcoming events on the Purdue Fort Wayne Campus check out the Event Calendar on www.pfw.edu/events or follow @pfwsab on Instagram, @purduefw on twitter, or @PurdueFortWayne on Facebook.

To find information on how to join Purdue Fort Wayne’s Student Activities Board, go to Student Activities Board – Purdue Fort Wayne (pfw.edu) or email sab@pfw.edu or call 260-481-6595.

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