As the new semester continues, new and preexisting student organizations on Marquette’s campus are working to recruit more participants.
On the second floor of the Alumni Memorial Union, student organizations lined the lobby as the Marquette Place lunch rush came to a close. Located by the entrance of the cafeteria, it would’ve been hard for passing students to miss the happenings of Winter Organization Fest, taking place from Feb. 9 to Feb. 13.
Held twice a year, O-Fest is Marquette University’s way of introducing on-campus organizations to its student body.
Fall O-Fest was on the Central Mall between Raynor Library and Lalumiere Hall in early September, where over 100 campus organizations and programs tabled to recruit new members as the semester began.
Winter O-Fest looked a bit different. With temperatures hovering around the 20s and 30s, the event was held indoors and broken up into different organizational categories, with specific days dedicated to tabling.
Each day ran from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., with sorority and fraternity organizations tabling from noon to 2 p.m. on Feb. 9. Other categories included performing arts, club and recreational sports, social awareness and service organizations.
On Feb. 12, academic and professional groups tabled, spanning across disciplines that ranged from nursing to business.
Katie Leuchtmann, a sophomore in the College of Health Sciences, came to Winter O-Fest to see all that Marquette has to offer.
“I think it’s a great opportunity to see all of the organizations and the diverse aspects of community here,” she said.
Leuchtmann also went to O-Fest in the fall, where she signed up for Marquette’s Coffee Club and signed her friend, Ellie Mast, up for Run Club.
Mast, also a sophomore in the College of Health Sciences, is the founder of Women in Medicine, a new club dedicated to women pursuing careers in the healthcare track. Her main goal for Winter O-Fest was to spread the message that the club exists.
“I’m hopeful,” she said. “I made my organization this semester, so we’re just looking for new members.”
Down the line of tables from Women in Medicine sat Marquette CEO, short for Collegiate Entrepreneurs’ Organization. Marquette CEO is also new this year, founded by Sarah Sanchez, a senior in the College of Business Administration.
“I started it myself in the fall semester and I recruited an E-board, so we’re kind of just figuring everything out now,” she said.
Despite its affiliation with the business school, CEO is open to students in any major, Sanchez said, and provides an outlet for members to connect with other aspiring entrepreneurs. The national organization has chapters at several different universities across the country.
Across the second-floor lobby, just outside the entrance to Marquette Place, was the Professional Association for Latino Medical Advancement, PALMA for short.
PALMA also tabled at O-Fest in the fall, co-CEO Dafne Mancilla, a senior in the College of Health Sciences, said. It used the second event to continue recruiting members and spread awareness of the organization.
Mancilla and her co-CEO, Alyssa Ruiz Rodriguez, a junior in the College of Health Sciences, run the organization with a mission to support Latino students at Marquette in their studies and career pursuits in the health sciences industry. As of 2023, only six percent of physicians in the US are Latino, according to the American Association of Medical Colleges.
“We’re going to give our 100% to cater to [members] and make sure that they get help to support their career,” Ruiz said.
PALMA was first created in 2022, using events like O-Fest to attract new members and spread its mission. Winter O-Fest focused on students who weren’t able to attend in the fall, Mancilla said.
While Marquette CEO used Fall O-Fest to bring in as many members as possible, Sanchez said, the winter festival homed in on solidifying commitments.
Sanchez said she has an email list of over 100 people currently, unsure of who is ready to start paying dues and attending events consistently. Her main priority is figuring out who’s committed to attending the organization’s weekly meetings.
Mancilla said PALMA is focused on growing together, as a group, while forming connections and inspiring future healthcare providers.
O-Fest allows students to learn about organizations and speak directly with members and leadership about involvement. For organizations like Women in Medicine, PALMA and Marquette CEO, the event served to introduce their mission and connect with interested students.
Leuchtmann, the student attendee, recalled her experience at O-Fest as a freshman, mentioning how she joined several different clubs to become familiar with the university.
She found “a lot of things that helped me find my place at Marquette.”
This story was written by Lilly Peacock. She can be reached at [email protected].
