Photo by: Abby Bellow
Liz McElroy’s first year as Inter-Club Council representative at Oklahoma Christian University has shown the impact clubs have on many students.
“Clubs are very visible,” McElroy said. “The way that they lead their groups winds up influencing students who aren’t even part of the club system.”
The ICC helps regulate and manage the social service clubs on campus.
McElroy began work as the new ICC representative last October, and she is currently in the midst of her first rush season at the helm of the club system. Her job is to monitor club proceedings, which makes her an influential part of club processes.
“It’s been very hectic,” McElroy said. “I meet weekly with the club presidents and try to give them information that they need to be successful… I try to help them navigate that quite a bit during the rush season, because I know it can be tricky for people.”
Social service clubs are groups of students who participate in service projects and social events together throughout the school year. According to Oklahoma Christian’s website, 39 percent of the student body are involved in the seven men’s clubs and six women’s clubs on campus.
McElroy is met with praise as she explores her new role and brings her own ideas to the table. Caleb Eggleston, ICC president and Kappa Sigma Tau president, said he enjoys working with her.
“She is doing awesome,” Eggleston said. “…[She is] really good at her job.”
Because of her background in psychology, McElroy said she enjoys observing the way students work inside their clubs.
“I love watching the group dynamic and the psychology of how groups move and how cultures develop,” McElroy said. “I am constantly amazed and surprised and impressed with the quality of students that we have here and their creativity and their energy.”
As a former Oklahoma Christian student and active club member, McElroy is excited to have an authoritative role in club operations.
“It’s interesting for me to be on the other side now,” McElroy said. “[There is] something new everyday, and I never know what it’s going to be.”
Iota Kappa Phi President Kayce Jones, appreciates McElroy’s hard work and how accessible she makes herself to the club presidents.
“Liz has stepped into a position that has to make a lot of hard decisions and I think that she has handled it very well,” Jones said. “At ICC meetings, she is always very informative and willing to answer any question that the presidents may have.”
In addition to working with each club’s president, McElroy has worked with club rush directors to guide them through the proper procedure of recruiting new club members.
“Liz has been a huge help through the entire rush process,” Bri Pitaniello, Gamma Rho rush director, said. “[She] is so sweet and does a wonderful job of balancing, being an authoritative figure over the clubs and helping us accomplish our goal of making rush a fun and exciting time for rushees and current members.”
Morgan Cocklin, Theta Theta Theta rush director, acknowledges McElroy has a challenging position.
“Dealing with a diverse group of college kids is a difficult job, and I think [she is] doing the best she can to manage it while still allowing the clubs to function on their own,” Cocklin said.
Perspective club members appreciate McElroy’s work as they rush. Sophomore Chris Crowder says he and his friends will make their decision on what club to join based on rush events.
“The rush events will definitely be a big impact,” Crowder said. “It’ll be a last minute decision for most of us.”
McElroy wants her work to be helpful and encouraging to students who are not interested in club affairs by making the presence of clubs as positive as possible.
“I try to encourage clear, healthy communication between everybody,” McElroy said. “Just helping them to think about the potential influence they have over people and how to use that in the best way, for them to be mindful and purposeful about the way that they are expressing their leadership to the people in clubs and to the school overall.”
McElroy feels the best part of her job is seeing students serve others through their clubs.
“The kinds of service they’re doing just is shocking to me sometimes of how genuine-hearted people are, and how much people are genuinely interested in helping each other,” McElroy said. “[The clubs] doing things above my expectation has been a good surprise.”
Sophomore Vickey Young finds the rush process to be an exciting time to learn more about the different clubs on campus.
“Rush, so far, has been a very positive experience,” Young said. “I have really enjoyed getting to know the clubs and making up my mind on which club to join, and it’s been a very seamless process. I definitely appreciate that.”
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