Liv Colón and Sydney Hamblin | Fall 2022
As Purdue University Fort Wayne welcomes students for the new year, many events are underway to help students connect with peers and get involved with campus programs and resources.
On Tuesday, Aug. 30, the Student Activities Board at PFW hosted the annual Community Engagement Fair and Root Beer Float Social. The event was held in the center of campus at the Science Mall and attracted many students and faculty members.
The event took place on the PFW Science Mall from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. with the purpose of giving students the chance to grab a root beer float and check out local non-for-profit organizations to learn more about different service projects and opportunities around the Fort Wayne area.
The social was part of the Campus Kickoff, a series of events hosted by the SAB. These events are put on to connect students to the various resources, opportunities, and extracurriculars that PFW has to offer to students.
Other than just enjoying root beer floats, many students took the opportunity to walk through the tables set up by local non-profits.
More than twenty booths were set up on the PFW Science Mall to give students the opportunity to engage with non-for-profit organizations in the Greater Fort Wayne community. Some of the organizations that attended the Root Beer Float Social were: Junior Achievement, Fort Wayne Trails, Community Harvest and Fort 4 Fitness.
Many of the booths attended the campus kickoff event because their organizations were actively looking for volunteers. Sue Cassel, the founder of Max Cavie’s Guinea Pig Haven, said she has many guinea pigs in her shelter that her and her volunteers need help taking care of.
“Guinea pigs need care 365 days a year… they live six to eight years, so people get tired of having them… we take them in and find them new homes.”
Cassel said she has a small group of volunteers that help her take care of the animals they have in the shelter, but they’re looking to add to the group of volunteers they currently have.
Indiana University Fort Wayne Senior, Adriahn Hindsley, also attended the event Tuesday. Hindsley said that she loves getting involved in and attending various PFW and IUFW events.
“I try to get involved in any event I can, especially since I will be graduating this next spring,” Hindsley said.
Hindsley said she likes the unique atmosphere of PFW and IUFW, she said it is different than other universities and that the atmosphere on campus is one of her favorite parts of being an IUFW Red Fox.
Visit https://www.pfw.edu/microsites/campus-kickoff/ for more information about PFW’s 2022 campus kickoff events where students can enjoy tons of free food, giveaways and fun activities.