Eager to dive into campus life at CU? Well Buffs, youāre in luck! There are plenty of different ways to get involved on campus and in the CU Boulder community. Whether it is through student organizations, on-campus jobs, leadership roles or volunteering, there is a place for everyone to find their home in the Buff community.Ģż
I spoke with CU seniors Ava Bandt, Gabriel Tierney and Sarah Lurie to learn about their experiences in getting involved by volunteering in the Boulder community and at CU.Ģż
Ava Bandt
Ava is a pre-health and psychology major at CU Boulder. After graduation, she intends on going into a career where she can help members of the community and make an impact by being a positive force. She currently volunteers at the Harvest of Hope food pantry in Boulder.Ģż
āI wanted to find a way to become more involved and more connected with the community. Living on The Hill, you see a lot of people experiencing homelessness or who are struggling, so I just wanted to find a way to be involved and help elevate the people who donāt always get the most support from everyone,ā says Bandt.Ģż
She is also involved in the Boulder Freeride club and has a student job with CU Events Planning & Catering on campus.Ģż
One piece of advice Bandt has is to not be afraid to put yourself out there and try new things.
āTrying anything new can be intimidating but from every club and organization that Iāve joined, Iāve learned a lot and Iāve grown a lot. Itās scary at first, especially when youāre at a new school, but once you really do immerse yourself, youāll find that people are really welcoming and accepting, and they want you to be a part of these things.ā
Ready to get involved? Check out these resources:
- ³Õ¾±°ł³Ł³Ü²¹±ōĢżBe Involved FairĢżAug. 25ā27: Familiarize yourself with student organizations, volunteer opportunities and nonprofit programs on and off campus over three days of Zoom sessions.
- Volunteer Resource Center: Find volunteer opportunities that match your interests and schedule.
- Center for Student Involvement: Find service-oriented student organizations to join.
Gabriel Tierney
Tierney is a CU in the Community project leader at the Volunteer Resource Center (VRC) and is also a part of Alpha Phi Omega (APO), which is the co-ed service fraternity on campus. A typical job as a project leader entails running a group of volunteers, organizing fun volunteer events and communicating with the VRC and the nonprofit organization you are working with. TIerney has enjoyed leading and planning volunteer projects, such as the Martin Luther King CU in the Community event.Ģż
āI led the Martin Luther King CU in the Community event. We went out and volunteered with Habitat for Humanity, and I think there were like 15 students who came. I actually made some friends that day. That is one of the cooler partsāgetting to know other students who have similar interests,ā says Gabriel. āThe social side of it doesnāt get talked about, and it is honestly a really fun thing. The friendship side of it, outside of the impact, is such a cool experience to get involved and meet new people at CU.āĢż
One piece of advice that Gabriel has is to ājust take that first step.āĢż
Sarah Lurie
Lurie is also involved with the Volunteer Resource Center and servesĢżas an advisory board member. She got involved with the VRC her freshman year by attending the Be Involved Fair.
āI was one of those eager freshmen where I was just likeāIām going to show up to everything and put my name on every single list, so I did, and that was one of the things I put my name on. Through these last three years, a lot of those things have kind of tapered away, and I found my passion within the things that Iām still a part of, and the VRC has been that for me,ā says Lurie.Ģż
She also browsed the list of all of the clubs and organizations on BuffConnect,Ģżmaking a list of all the things she was interested in.
Lurie is a talent management major in the Leeds School of Business. āIn the business school youāre so cooped up on the very end of campus that I rarely went to the UMC or branched out from that area, so I felt like being involved was my way to branch out and meet new people. I'm surrounded by business people all day so I wanted to meet people outside my major and find commonalities that stem beyond the classroom. Itās fun to be able to find connections with people that go beyond your major.ā
āOnce youāre involved in even just one or two things on campus, you start seeing all these connections within the campus community, and itās really cool to be a part of this network.āĢż
One piece of advice LurieĢżhas is to not let the amount of opportunities at CU intimidate you, and to use your first year at CU to try out lots of different opportunities, with the intention to narrow it down by the second semester to things that you absolutely love.
So, Buffs, donāt be afraid to jump in and get involvedāthere are numerous volunteer opportunitiesĢżfor you to get involved with in the CU community!
