Graduation thins club leadership
By Drew Hampton, Staff Writer
- Many clubs may face trouble as club leaders leave campus to transfer or graduate.
- The Business Professionals of America will have seven or eight members leave due to graduation.
Graduation may mean trouble for clubs around campus as club leaders leave the college en masse.
Engineering Club President Bryan Huffman said most of his club’s members will graduate or transfer to another college after this semester.
“This sort of presents us with a problem,” he said.
The club, which recently made $700 from its used textbook sale on campus, was created as a way for engineering students and those interested in the field to meet and exchange ideas, Huffman said.
“[The club] had been around for a long time before I was here,” he said.
“We were kind of reforming the group from the past.”
Huffman said that while there were several people who had expressed interest in joining the club, many simply could not make it to either of the scheduled meeting times for various reasons.
“I think a lot of people work as well as go to school, so they have a really full schedule,” he explained.
The Engineering Club is not the only club on campus that currently faces this dilemma, however.
Chris Stewart, president of the Business Professionals of America, said his organization would be affected as well.
“There are about seven or eight members and [leaders] leaving due to graduation,” he said.
“It just so happens that they are the more consistent and active members, as well.”
Rebekah Green, vice-president of scholarships for Phi Theta Kappa, was similarly concerned about her own organization.
“[This] is definitely the case with PTK,” she said.
“All but two of our current officers are graduating and we only inducted 15 new members on Thursday.”
Student Clubs and Organizations Assistant Karlen Grayson said that while many clubs will indeed be losing officers, overall club attendance will quickly rebound after the Student Organizations Fair takes place in the fall.
Huffman said that while he is graduating, he is currently taking measures to keep the Engineering Club intact, just in case.
“I’ve been trying to train everyone on how the club works,” he said.
“Starting out our club from [the beginning] was really rough, so we’re trying to do the best we can [to keep the club going].”
For more information about clubs and organizations on campus, contact Grayson at 405-682-1611, ext. 7185.
Staff Writer Drew Hampton can be reached at StaffWriter1@occc.edu.
