On Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024, NEIU Campus Recreation hosted the NEIU-Rec Kickoff event in the P.E. complex as a way to introduce students to the P.E. facility and to encourage physical activity. This event marks the campus’s second annual showcase.

The event was particularly notable thanks to the dedicated efforts of Graduate Assistant Hiba Salman. Campus Recreation Facility Coordinator Derek Ansong praised Salman’s contributions, noting, “Our department was in the process of changing program coordinators and we were afraid that we would possibly have to postpone the event to next year; with Salman coming onboard as a graduate assistant, she quickly engaged students from various clubs and those seeking to create new ones, and got the ball moving to continue the event. She is the true hero behind all of this and deserves all of the credit.”

Student feedback was overwhelmingly positive. After asking students which events and programs they were the most excited about, freshman education major Emma Fischer expressed her enthusiasm for the volleyball club, which she had not previously known existed. “I was very excited to engage in volleyball because I grew up playing it all my life and throughout grade and high school,” Fischer explained.

In addition to the athletic club, “The event was a great way to meet new people and to feel welcomed within the campus environment,” Fischer said.

The only critique that Fischer had for the event was the lack of promotion. “Not many people knew of the event, and despite having a decent turnout, even more [students] would have been interested in attending,” Fischer said.

With the hiring of a new program coordinator and graduate assistants, Campus Recreation has plans to host the event annually, aligning with other universities. Events offered at the event were volleyball, Zumba, badminton, rock climbing and HIIT. Campus Recreation also introduced more classes and clubs to their schedule such as JiuJitsu, bootcamp, basketball and cycling.