By Zoe Taylor – Pioneer Reporter

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The Office of Student Life at Oklahoma City Community College acts as a centerpiece for students’ non-academic occurrences. This office helps students to feel more connected to the campus and their community while offering benefits for student involvement.

The Office of Student Life is located in the Main Building on the OCCC Campus and recently moved to office 1J2 between the Bursar’s office and Student Accessibility and Support. The office is open Monday-Friday from 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

Student Life aims to create a sense of belonging within the student body. According to their mission statement, “The Office of Student Life creates transformative experiences for all students, thereby empowering them to become assets to the community.”

“Student Life is committed to ensuring students are successful inside and outside of the classroom. We want students to have fun, learn, grow, and, ultimately, achieve their academic goals,” Cody Garrison, the Director of Student Life said. 

The Office of Student Life hosts frequent events and provides interactive experiences for students, including off-campus meet-ups, games, volunteer opportunities, fairs, and more. Some recent events include the OCCC Scavenger Hunt, Cultural Spotlight, Relaxation Day, and a video game tournament. 

“We also try to conceptualize and produce new and exciting events throughout the semester that will get students excited about being a part of the campus culture,” Garrison stated.

President of Student Government Association, Sergio Martinez, believes that participating in student life can help students feel more connected to campus.

“I definitely recommend, as a first-time college student, also a person of color and a first-generation student; it’s really easy to feel really overwhelmed and feel like you don’t belong on campus.” Martinez added, “They are here to make sure that every student feels welcome and that they know they belong here.”

Student Government Association is an organization within Student Life that is “Made up of representatives from every official student club and led by a 4-officer executive board, SGA’s inherent diversity helps it to serve as an effective communication channel between OCCC students, College Leadership, and OSGA, the statewide student government association,” according to the OCCC website.

The clubs and organizations within the Office of Student Life allow students to grow personally and professionally according to Martinez.

“I think the professional benefits that provide anyone serving in this capacity is the ability to connect with your community and just like in a capacity you couldn’t before and puts you in a position to meet a lot of movers and shakers within the community that makes things happen,” said Martinez

Besides the professional benefits, students when provided support systems and engaged are more likely to persist to graduation, stated Garrison.

There are currently over 20 clubs active on campus. The variety of organizations and clubs housed in Student Life, the OCCC campus, ensures that every student will have an opportunity to get involved. This involvement helps students build relationships with their peers and networking opportunities for their future.

For more information on how to get involved on campus, visit occc.edu/studentlife/ or email studentlife@occc.edu.