It’s Not Too Late to Get Involved, Meet With an Involvement Advisor Today
LEXINGTON. Ky. (Nov. 16, 2020) — The University of Kentucky has hundreds of student organizations on campus, one for every hobby, every background and every creed. While the benefits of joining a student organization are endless, and the opportunities are immense, finding the right organization can be a challenge.
To inspire students to explore the many opportunities for involvement beyond the classroom and encourage students to make connections to their own interests and passions, Student Organizations and Activities provides students with an opportunity to meet with involvement advisors.
Involvement advising is a chance for students to connect with an involvement advising coordinator to discover their interests and, from there, learn where opportunities exist.
“I wanted to become an involvement advisor as a way to ensure other students had a chance to have the experience I did in attending UK,” said UK senior, Amy Keith, health, society, and populations major. “I am an out-of-state student and came to UK knowing no one! Through getting involved with organizations and making connections, I was able to call UK my home and make lifelong friends. Getting involved has also opened so many doors and led me to become the person I am today.”
To learn more about Keith’s role as an involvement advisor, we asked her a few questions.
UKNow: Why do you believe it is important for students to get involved on campus?
Keith: Getting involved at UK is important because it helps you gain experiences outside the classroom, make connections and learn more about yourself in the process! I feel as though getting involved is what puts together the pieces you are given in class to make meaningful connections academically and personally that will help you succeed after college.
UKNow: The semester is quickly coming to an end, if a student hasn’t already, is it too late to get involved this year?
Keith: It is never too late to get involved! Many organizations do not have any specified "join by" date, meaning that they are always open to new members! Additionally, there are also events happening throughout the semester that don't require membership, and these are fun ways to get involved as well.
UKNow: What can a student expect when reaching out to an involvement advisor?
Keith: When you reach out to an involvement advisor, you can expect to meet with another undergraduate student with lots of experience with being involved on campus. We each feel passionately about getting involved and making sure you find some avenue of involvement that would match your interests and goals! You can either receive general information about involvement through an email, or you can meet individually with an involvement advisor over Zoom or phone. During these meetings, we get to know you better holistically and then provide suggestions for involvement based on the information you provide us. We will then go through the process of how to reach out to organizations, attend events, etc., and provide support throughout the process.
UKNow: Can you walk me through the progression of helping a student get involved?
Keith: It really depends on what involvement looks like to each student. We like to say that involvement is essentially anything that is not staying in your residence hall room or going to class. This typically encompasses jobs, events, research, organizations — you name it! Because there are so many ways to get involved and different processes based on the organization, I would recommend meeting with an involvement advisor to review the process for your specific avenue of involvement. However, generally speaking, we typically advise students to use BBNvolved profiles of organizations and contact them using their posted email address or to use the "Contact" button in the top right corner.
UKnow: How can students stay involved over the long break?
Keith: Be sure to connect with involvement advisors over the semester to search for ways to stay connected over the long break. The Office of Student Organizations and Activities is also launching a program called Wildcat Involvement and Leadership Development (WILD). This involvement opportunity will take place over the winter break; it's a three-week long opportunity to meet other students, learn about your leadership style, and discover ways to get involved! You can sign up on BBNvolved. Lastly, the university will continue to release more events over the break, so be sure to check the Events tab on BBNvolved!
If you’re interested in meeting with an involvement advisor, or learning more about your options for campus involvement, be sure to fill out the Involvement Advising Request, found here. You can indicate your interest and preferences and an involvement advisor will contact you.
More information or questions? Please contact the involvement advisors at getinvolveduky@gmail.com or via text at 864-ORGS-UKY (674-7859).
As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and health care. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $476.5 million research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.
In 2022, UK was ranked by Forbes as one of the “Best Employers for New Grads” and named a “Diversity Champion” by INSIGHT into Diversity, a testament to our commitment to advance Kentucky and create a community of belonging for everyone. While our mission looks different in many ways than it did in 1865, the vision of service to our Commonwealth and the world remains the same. We are the University for Kentucky.