On Wednesday, Sept. 8, dozens of registered student organizations (RSOs) and Mecosta County vendors engaged with students at Robinson Quad for the annual Bulldog Bonanza.
Student activities specialist Teresa Fogel stat- ed that Bulldog Bonanza has been held for over 20 years. She sees the event as an opportunity for students to discover how they can become in- volved.
“It gives students a chance to actually speak to RSO representatives so they can learn more about each organization. They also get to see a little of what Big Rapids has to offer students,” Fogel said.
Though Ferris emphasizes how beneficial this event is to new freshmen, Fogel hoped to see stu- dents of all ages and classes.
“This year it would be great for sophomores also since they didn’t get to attend a Bulldog Bonanza in person last year. All students are welcome to join us,” Fogel said.
RSOs such as Women in Technology, the Stu- dent Government Association, Young Beautiful Black Women (YBBW) and the Figure Skating Team were impressed by the large number of students they were able to connect with.
Mechanical engineering junior Sydney Cham- bers attended Bulldog Bonanza as a member of Women in Technology. Chambers stated that her fellow Women in Technology, and all the students they spoke to, were happy to be outside and inter- acting with the community.
“We want to reach out to women in tech and open the horizons to see what job opportunities they have,” Chambers said.
The Student Government Association was repre- sented by Sophie Kubesh, a P1 pharmacy student,
and Meredith Whitmer, a senior studying elemen- tary education.
Functioning like a college-level student council, the Student Government Association aims to be the “voice of the student body.” Kubesh and Whit- mer are proud of their RSO’s involvement and feel that their work is valued by Ferris’ administration.
Sonography and healthcare administration ma- jor Autumne Peoples and social work major Zenise Triplett were proud to recruit new members for YBBW. They aim to be a safe space for friendship, scholarship and unity.
“We hope to not only culturally enhance Ferris State’s campus but to increase societal awareness as well,” reads the YBBW mission statement.
Ainslie Clark, a social work major and member of the Figure Skating Team, stated that people were “excited to participate.” She saw more fresh- man and sophomore sign-ups than ever before.
Along with the wide variety of RSOs, local Big Rapids employers also attended Bulldog Bonanza. To attract students to their table, Taco Bell fea- tured a prize wheel and handed out free coupons. KFC offered prizes to students who won a game of Plinko and promoted scholarships offered to their employees.
Fogel recommends that students take the initia- tive to see what lies beyond the Ferris campus.
“For the community, [students] could purchase a Pioneer newspaper or just walk around down- town to see what’s there. Everyone knows about Perry Street, but we also have a gorgeous down- town area for students to check out,” Fogel said.
For more information on how to become in- volved, all Ferris RSOs can be found with contact information on Bulldog Connect.