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A Weekend in Akron Ohio Was Just What I Needed

September 18th, 2023 by Kenneth Abrahams

Summer at FUN Enterprises mimics the season in a lot of businesses, homes, and college campuses. Things don’t stop but for the part of the summer around the 4th of July, they slow down. After a hectic spring, many of us take time off; go on vacation or simply take a few days for a staycation. Office hours return to more of a 9 to 5 schedule with nights and weekends being a little less crazy. Equipment is cleaned, tested, repaired, and in some cases, thrown out. Shelves are a bit more barren but slightly more organized and our operations team can finally get a handle on what we actually have in house. It is nice to be able to slow down a bit and catch our breath.

It is also that time of year when conversations with clients are a bit longer and delve into deeper subject matter, as opposed to simply trying to provide and receive information about upcoming events. Recurring topics this summer were lingering challenges left behind by COVID, student engagement in general, the recruitment and the retention of student leaders, along with the lack of candidates to fill professional positions in student activities and residential life. For years, the students in leadership were the best recruitment tool for getting new leaders involved. They didn’t need to be coached or required to do that part of their job; it came naturally. Many student leaders loved being involved. They got out of it, as much if not more, than they put in. For some, involvement was simply a continuation of what they had done in high school. Whether it was student government, class council, or the newspaper. Other students got involved to make a difference in the place they called home for four years (in some cases longer than that). People join clubs to find individuals with similar interests or simply to make new friends. Most found being a student leader rewarding and fun.

COVID changed all of that at many schools. Student leaders often felt that their hard work was not only unappreciated by fellow students, but often criticized. Being remote for many caused them to lose a connection with fellow students and created a sense of isolation. That chain of older student leaders passing on their enthusiasm for being involved at the highest level of clubs and organizations was broken. At some schools, attendance at events suffered. Positions that traditionally had more applicants than they needed, weren’t even getting enough students to fill the spots they had. Groups like Resident assistants and Orientation leaders had vacancies that they simply couldn’t fill. Conversations about these situations happened over and over during the summer. Every school, regardless of size, religiously affiliated or not, public, or private seemed to be faced with the same struggles.

As I was preparing to leave on my trip to Akron, Tufts University Resident Assistants were about to go on strike for one day, trying to get a stipend for their work. It was against this backdrop that I headed out on my first tour of the season. Three days in Akron Ohio, working at the University of Akron. Believe it or not, three days in Akron was just what the doctor ordered. Akron itself is a nice city and the university itself is fine. No, it is not a picturesque New England college with ivy covered red brick buildings. As with many destinations, it is the people that make a place special and that held very true of Akron.

Over my three days, I worked three different events that were coordinated by two offices on campus. First up was the Residence Hall Programming Board’s annual casino night held in their auditorium. This is an event that I have worked several times before and, as always, it was a well-attended and expertly run event. What I didn’t expect was the overwhelmingly enthusiastic volunteers I worked with. From the moment I pulled into the garage their energy and excitement were evident and they made the whole event fun and just seem to fly by. Not sure how they did it but the number of volunteers that night was staggering, they seemed to be everywhere. From their comments it was clear, they had as much fun working the event as the students attending the event. Any other year this wouldn’t have been a surprise since the Akron Residence Hall Programming Board is under the direction of Tom Faessel who, in the world of campus programming, is legendary. It was just the fact that for months I had been talking to people about apathy and a lack of student participation.

Events over the next two days were run out of the student activities office. Our contact, Tiffany Schmidt, worked with Tom for years before moving to that office. Working with her and her staff was, in a word, delightful. There was no drop off in the quality and enthusiasm of her crew of workers. What amazed me about the 2 events that I worked was the astounding number of students involved in both events. Day one with this crew was Roofest. For context, the Akron mascot is a kangaroo and to be specific, a female kangaroo. A fact that was pointed out multiple times over the two days. Looking out at Roofest there were students in a wide range of brightly colored shirts that identified them as volunteers and student leaders. There were orientation leaders and program board members but also a whole crew of other volunteers that were just the Roo Welcome Weekend committee. Again, volunteers seemed to be everywhere, and the event was packed with students. Despite the activity fair being the next day, a number of clubs, organizations, fraternities, and sororities were visible and recruiting at Roofest.

My final day and the last event was in fact their Fall Activity Fair. As I arrived on campus to load in, student groups were filling the campus center. Not only were the halls full of students but they were bringing in a variety of signs and items that represented their clubs and organizations. I watched a parade of battle robots, rockets, Greek letters, and even a race car, from the Zips Racing Team being wheeled in and around the campus center. It appeared that the Dodgeball club forgot to register and didn’t have a space but undaunted they wrangled up a tent and stood outside, in their uniforms, gathering new club members as they entered and exited the fair.

One other thing that happened over the three days is that I met some truly incredible students. Two really stuck out. One person that I worked with is a full-time student but has 4 part time jobs. She used to have 5 but finally dropped one because it was just too much. At one point, I asked how many hours she worked at each job and when it was added up the total was 43 hours. That is a full-time job and then some. Add in class time, homework, and meals it is a wonder she was able to sleep. There goes the Gen Z label of lazy, self-centered, entitled students. Another young lady I worked with was beginning her senior year but already had a job offer, post-graduation in May. She was studying supply chain management and logistics which tends to be a male dominated field. When she graduates, she will go work for the company that she did her summer internship with, working in the customer service side of the business. It is safe to say they both impressed me.

Three days in Akron was a treat or should I say a gift as it reminded me why so many of us do what we do. Life outside the classroom on a college or university campus is not just important, it’s in fact vital. When you attend events like these you see firsthand how schools build community through those co-curricular activities. They are not “extra” but an integral part of every student’s life. They are often what makes a campus and a particular college experience truly unique. Hopefully other campuses are seeing a resurgence of a return to pre-pandemic levels of interest and activity. It was awesome being in an environment like Akron. Keeping my fingers crossed that I will be invited back next year.

About the author

Ken Abrahams spends a lot of time with college students and on college campuses. Recently, he donated around 200 baseball hats collected from some of the schools he has visited to charity. Face it, he only has one head that can only handle one hat at a time. He learns more from the students than they could ever learn from him.

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