If you think that college student organizations are purely social ones, think again.

Miami Hamilton students come together in a number of campus organizations and find many ways to actively give back to their local communities.

Corrine Carthell, Coordinator of Student Activities at Miami University Hamilton, says that students don’t have to look far to find service opportunities on campus. As examples, she suggests the Association of Latino & American Students (ALAS) and their planned home-building trip to Tijuana, Mexico, during spring break 2007, and the Minority Action Committee’s Thanksgiving food drive. 

Carthell also notes that many other student organizations incorporate service components into their programming, including the Campus Activities Committee (CAC) and the Student Government association (SGA), which holds an annual silent auction to benefit the Butler County United Way, and the Organization for Wiser and Worldwide Learners (OWLs), which organizes a blood drive each semester.

Corrine Carthell (left) and members of CAC at the Silent Auction, fall 2006.	Archie Nelson, Director of Admission, joins in the Spring Fling fun, spring, 2006.	Members of the Organization for Wiser and Worldwide Learners (OWLs)

In her second year in the job, Carthell brings an energy and enthusiasm to the position of Coordinator of Student Activities that has translated into an abundance of events and organizations on campus. She also brings a unique perspective: Carthell once attended Miami Hamilton as a student.

“We’re a community that’s a lot like family here,” she says. “I experienced it as a student…and now it’s great to be on the staff side and give that experience to other students.”

Under Carthell’s leadership, the Office of Student Activities also organizes social and cultural activities and provides opportunities for leadership development. Social activities include the new Café Music Series and working with the Campus Activities Committee to organize fun events such as Fall Fest and Spring Fling. Leadership development opportunities come in a variety of forms, including the M.O.S.A.I.C Leadership Institute (MLI), which is a collaborative partnership between the Offices of Multicultural Services, and Student Activities. 

“I think that students today have learned to manage a college life that includes co-curricular service,” says Carthell. “Students understand that it takes more than just academics [to succeed in life]. Co-curricular service makes students well-rounded and gives them a competitive edge by diversifying their portfolio of skills and attributes if they decide to relocate to Oxford, transfer to another school, or go on to the workplace.”

Carthell sums up the goals of the Office of Student Activities in one short sentence: “We’re here for the students to make their co-curricular experience the best it can be.”

Learn more about the Office of Student Activities and the wide variety of student organizations on the Miami Hamilton campus.