Photos by Julia Rendleman, University Marketing.

Students find opportunities for every interest at annual SOVO Fair

Share this story

Virginia Commonwealth University student Sara Shahidi arrived at the annual Student Organization and Volunteer Opportunities Fair hoping to locate community service programs with a health care focus. She was not disappointed.

As Shahidi, a freshman from Manassas, slalomed through the hundreds of tables arranged in crowded aisles on the Siegel Center floor Friday, she found herself stopping frequently to speak with students manning the booths and to add her name to sign-up sheets. Shahidi believes service helps make you a well-rounded person, and she aims to strengthen her health care background as she eyes a future career as a doctor.

At the fair, she spotted a host of promising paths to achieving her goals in both areas.

“There are so many different options and so many different things you can do to help here,” Shahidi said. “Almost too many. There’s not enough time.”

VCU is home to more than 500 student organizations. The SOVO Fair offers an ideal chance for incoming students to learn about the university’s breadth of organizations, covering areas that range from service and academic to social and athletic. The fair also shines a light on countless volunteer opportunities.

Dasjah Barksdale, a transfer student from Patrick Henry Community College, said she came to the SOVO Fair as part of adapting to her new academic home. In that spirit, she was resolved to explore the offerings with an open mind, though her antenna particularly was raised for sports-related clubs. She was impressed with the almost overwhelming scope of the fair.

“Coming here is a good way for me to figure out how to get involved at VCU and be a part of this community,” she said. 

For more information about student organizations, visit the Student Leadership and Involvement Center.

<slideshow id=143 align=center width=620>

 

Subscribe for free to the weekly VCU News email newsletter at http://newsletter.news.vcu.edu/ and receive a selection of stories, videos, photos, news clips and event listings in your inbox every Thursday.