On Saturday, Sept. 9, Martin Square was a fiesta of posters and people. This year, Seattle Pacific University welcomed 25 student groups to Involve-O-Rama, showcasing their offerings through colorful infographics, interactive games and cuisine from around the world.

Upon entering Martin Square, students were presented with a diverse collection of clubs, ranging from cultural student groups, to department-affiliated clubs.

The Filipino American Student Association held their traditional Tinikling, a cultural dance using bamboo sticks. The Korean Student Association initiated friendly one-on-one conversations. The student crew for rowing brought a rowboat with equipment to try out.

The 2023 Involve-O-Rama paved the way for an unforgettable student experience. Not only were the clubs diverse, but the list was ever-growing. ASSP approved seven new clubs to add to the list: Radical Readers, Chess Club and the South Asian Student Association, to name a few.

First-year Political Science major Mikel Saxon, expressed his delight interacting with student groups and leaders.

“I mostly just enjoyed seeing all the different clubs they had to offer. You always hear about it during your tours and everything, but actually seeing them was better than looking on the SPU website,” Saxon said.

First year chemistry major Esther Bui had a particular idea of what type of student group to look for before arriving on campus. Given the diversity of clubs in culture and career path, she was easily able to find them.

“I was initially looking for the Pre-Health club and the Vietnamese Student Association because, first of all, I’m Vietnamese, so I’d like to find a group of Vietnamese people, and then the Pre-Health Club matches up with my intended career,” Bui said.

First year student and art and photography major Henry Nguyen kept an open mind with the student groups he wanted to join. He found curiosity is often rewarded.

“I got a lot of free donuts, I took like two or three boxes home,” Nguyen said.

Naturally, the success of such a large involvement fair was not without challenges. ASSP Officer of Student Groups and political science major Faith Buloum detailed behind-the-scenes of the fair.

During the planning period, all the printers throughout campus were down, and this led to a lot of student leaders scratching their heads at how to efficiently advertise their clubs without the help of flyers or print-outs.

“That was really hard for all my club leaders because I had floor maps of where I wanted everyone to be. A big part of Involve-O-Rama is showcasing what your student group is but also recruiting people to come to your clubs,” Buloum said.

Despite all of that, Buloum saw how students bounced back even after such an unprecedented inconvenience.

“Everyone was super understanding, which I was so appreciative of, and they were able to adapt pretty well by having their computers to sign up, or even just linking their Engage page,” said Buloum.

The hard work of all the student leaders, officers and planners culminated in a fruitful event. The group leaders were able to recruit many newly admitted students, and were mutually presented with a great time. Likewise, students were able to find their own safe spaces in which they can explore their interests.

Buloum expressed her excitement at seeing the event become a reality.

“One of the most exciting things of Involve-O-Rama is just seeing everybody back on campus and how exciting students are to be involved in leadership,” Buloum said. “I just think that student groups do so much for campus and just bring student life up, and that just correlates with how much people care about coming to university.”