Kelsey Carlo, Staff Writer

On Wednesday, Sept. 13, 63 organizations on campus requested a table on the back lawn of Strebel Center with the hopes of drawing in new members.

One organization that focuses on teaching their members leadership and event planning skills is the Residence Hall Association (RHA).  

“This organization is a great stepping stool for anyone who is looking to be a Resident Assistant, Orientation Mentor or in Student Government Association,” said Cindy Borgen, secretary of RHA.

RHA also hosts and collaborates different events on campus each year.

Every semester on the last day of classes, they throw a luau party that is open for all students to join and unwind. They will also be collaborating this semester with the Utica College Programming Board and the Gay Straight Alliance to host “Take Back Your Prom” that is put on every school year. They are currently in the process of planning a first annual Haunted House that will take place in the residence quad.

The Emergency Medical Services Organization had a different approach to the Involvement Fair that included the landing of a Mercy Flight Air Care helicopter.

Mercy Flight is a non-profit air and ground medical transporter. The particular helicopter that came to campus was from Griffiss Air Force in Rome.

“We are pretty much a flying ICU,” said Shawn Dillon, a registered nurse and certified emergency nurse. “We have both medication and equipment, and do much more than a typical ambulance.”

Each call requires three people; a pilot, a paramedic and a nurse. There are two types of common services they do: scene calls and interfacility calls. Scene calls are for car accidents, gunshots, strokes, heart attacks, etc. Interfacility calls are for patients who are at a hospital and need to be transported to another hospital that specializes in what they need done.

“Whenever I have the chance to talk to nursing students, I stress to them that they can’t come out of college and expect to do this. You need at least three to five years of experience in a metropolitan area,” Dillon said. “All of our pilots need to have a minimum of 2,000 to 2,500 hours completed which is why most of our pilots are ex-military.”

The calls they receive can range all around the state, but the three main centers they transport to are Albany, Syracuse and Rochester. Mercy Flight has three main centers in New York which are in Marcellus, Rome and Canandaigua. The non-profit organization is able to survive from donations and fundraising.

Not only is the Involvement Fair an opportunity for each organization to expand their roster, but it is also a place for freshmen and others to join new ones.

Halie Colavolpe, a freshman in the health studies program, expresses why she decided to attend the Involvement Fair.

“I really love the idea of having something like this on campus. Walking up and down the sidewalk is incredible because there is so much variety and I really enjoy that,” Colavolpe said. “So far, I am interested in three organizations, Theta Phi Alpha, Climbing Club and Health Studies Student Society. I chose these for different reasons, and I am very excited to see what happens.”