Extracurricular Enrollment Increases in Fall 2021 Semester

By Emily Goggins, Kirstynne Hock, and Maddy Majewski

We want you!

The increase of members in clubs this year has been significant. During the past year, clubs could not recruit as heavily as in the past. COVID-19 affected the number of in-person and virtual classes. This has played a large role for clubs in gaining fewer members than they have in the past. Carli Shamion, the president of DECA (Distributive Education Clubs of America), and Sound Ritzman, president of PRSSA (Public Relations Student Society of America), provided insights about the large growth of members recruited. Shamion and Ritzman expressed how happy they were to see the growth and how being in the club will help the members grow as individuals.

DECA president Shamion has been with DECA since spring of 2019. Due to her major, HR Management and Entrepreneurship, Shamion chose to get involved in helping grow her network and meeting other students with similar interests.

DECAS Facebook post featuring the president Carli Shamion and member Olivia Ryan

Shamion said, “DECA doubled since last fall.” They now have 20 members. Shamion and her club projected the club growth due to UWGB’s campus student organizations event ORG SMORG. More so, Shamion believes the turnout was due to last year’s restrictions. Shamion stated, “I definitely think that the club numbers have increased because people are allowed out of their houses now, fewer restrictions, and the vaccine has more people willing to try new things.”

PRSSA’s President Ritzman, a senior, joined PRSSA in the fall of her junior year because she wanted to gain networking experience and have the opportunity to do workshops and travel. PRSSA started with six members this year, and after ORGSMORG, they now have 34 members. Ritzman stated, “I projected the club’s growth as many of the returning members were seniors.” Ritzman said, “there was definitely a disconnect among students last year because of the pandemic and everything being virtual, so now with everything being more in person and back to ‘normal,’ I think people are ready and want to be actively involved.”

Instagram post from PRSSAs first meeting of the 2021 fall semester

Freshman Claire Gleason put in her input as a new student on campus and a new organization member. Gleason was a senior in high school who was involved in many activities inside and outside of school; varsity cheer, competitive a cappella, national honor society, dance class, violin lessons, and Sunday school teacher. This semester, Gleason has found two clubs to join, thanks to ORGSMORG: PsycHD and Aspiring Educators. Gleason states, “I am glad I joined because it has helped my transition to school and will help me meet more people.”

Freshman Clarie Gleason