Ways to Engage

One of the things we urge students to do at the start of each year is to find meaningful engagement in campus activities. There is an opportunity for a select group of students to be involved with CLAC – the Campus Life Advisory Committee. Here’s what I was told about CLAC:

“Do you have ideas for how to improve campus life at WFU? This is a wonderful opportunity to meet and interact with campus leadership, provide your student perspective and experiences, learn about campus life topics such as mental health and residential life, as well as to share resources and information learned at these meetings with the larger student body.

The Campus Life Advisory Council (CLAC) members serve as an advisory board for the Vice President of Campus Life, Dr. Shea Kidd Brown and provide invaluable input and suggestions for improvements of campus life at Wake Forest University.

The advisory board was created to provide students access to senior campus leadership that they may not already have through campus leadership positions, on-campus jobs, or other advisory boards. Undergraduate and graduate students will be selected to serve on the advisory board for the academic year. Students will also be encouraged to volunteer at VPCL events.

Application deadline: Friday, August 26 11:59 PM

Application link: go.wfu.edu/clac (note: first-year students are not eligible).”

Speaking of meaningful engagement, I saw this great news story about our Chamber Choir, and a gift that will help fund the choir’s travels. Performing music as part of a group is a wonderful way to find involvement on campus and broaden your social network. Here’s a few quotes from the article that demonstrate some of the real world skills choir students grow, and the impact music can have on them:

• “A big thing we learn in our communication classes is how to understand the ways people express themselves. We learn to listen,” said junior communication major Elsa Maurizi. “In choir, we have to listen closely to the voices around us in order to blend and lean into dissonance and harmony. The choir is very group-oriented, but each minor detail is created by individuals.”
• “Music has undoubtedly shaped who I am as a person and offers a break away from the intense academic workload that comes with being a pre-med student,” said pre-med senior Kgosi Hughes. “I have been able to learn many new techniques and life perspectives from other students. Singing with the choir has also helped me confront criticism by learning how to process constructive feedback.” 
• Research suggests that when a choir travels together the personal and artistic connections created among the members increase self-confidence, well-being and interpersonal skills. Studies show that group singing elevates mood, increases social bonding and regulates stress – suggesting that the mood-boosting effect of singing is likely due to its social aspects.”

Finally, I found this opinion piece in The New York Times today: The Art of Choosing What to Do with Your Life. In it, two former faculty members talk about how they used to teach college students about how to choose– which is one of the harder things students seem to grapple with these days. Here’s a snippet:

• “If we want to understand where we’re headed, we should ask ourselves these questions: Am I interested in this opportunity because it leads to wealth? Or am I aiming at praise and admiration? Do I want enduring glory? Or power — to “make an impact”? Is my goal to maximize my pleasures? Do I seek health? Do I seek some “good of the soul,” such as knowledge or virtue? Or is my ultimate longing to come face-to-face with the divine?
• Most students find, to their surprise, that they can locate their desires on this old map. This does not leave students feeling constrained, as they have often been led to fear. It leaves them feeling empowered, like wanderers suddenly recognizing the orienting features of a landscape.”

Move-in for new students is tomorrow. Wear comfy clothes and keep an eye on the weather. We can wait to see all our P’26s and transfer families!

— by Betsy Chapman, Ph.D. (’92, MA ’94)

August 16, 2022