ESSO Interest Night Attracts New Students
Agora was buzzing with students eager to learn about the extensive variety of ESSO clubs offered on and off campus this past Friday. Leading up to the interest night, ESSO completed several changes to start the 2016-17 school year.
The acronym, ESSO, which formerly stood for “Exeter Social Service Organization” now stands for “Exeter Student Service Organization.” ESSO Director of Communications and upper Lucas Schroeder explained that ESSO leaders hope the name change will better represent the organization’s focus and mode of operation to the community. The name change was also incorporated because ESSO is a student-led program. As explained on their website, the organization emphasizes direct service to the Exeter community and students are encouraged to “think globally, act locally.” Leading up to the start of this academic school year, ESSO worked to reduce the number of clubs it encompasses in an effort to make the organization’s focus more directed and purposeful. Last year, the board managed over 80 clubs, which has now dropped to just over 70. Schroeder said that instead of focusing on the pure quantity of clubs that ESSO has the capacity to oversee, they have reduced the number of clubs under their umbrella in recent years to “make the greatest impact and [add] strength the organization’s focus.” Each of the board members also has personal goals to improve and streamline access and participation in the network of clubs and organizations.
ESSO also made a new website, designed by On-Campus Clubs Coordinator and upper Jackson Parell. The website gives ESSO a dedicated space to attract students, while also providing students with an easy and clear way to navigate information. Along with this source of information, the website offers a new survey that can help students determine what is the best club for them. Co-Director of Communications and senior John Ragone, said he was enthusiastic about the improved communication an ESSO website is bound to provide. “This year I’m looking forward to ESSO becoming radically more accessible and user-friendly. Last year, we were tucked into a hidden tab on the terrible ExeterConnect.” The new site can now be found at pea-esso.com
The group is also looking for leaders to head a new club at the local YMCA down on Linden Street. The YMCA reached out to the Exeter community for recruiting students to lead an interactive family activity, such as dance or music, on Sunday afternoons. One of the heads, lower Andrew Hong was excited to spend some of his free time to serve. “When [Community Service Coordinator Elizabeth] Reyes contacted me about helping to lead ESSO YMCA, I was thrilled about the opportunity to use my time giving back to the greater Exeter community.” For now, neither Reyes or Hong are exactly sure where the program will go, but both are excited about the prospect of involving Exeter students further in the surrounding community, and Hong added that the YMCA is an ideal locus for all types of community service.
ESSO co-President and senior Connie Cai mentioned the possibility of partnering with Exeter High School to assist low-income communities in Exeter. Other new clubs include ESSO Spanish, run by lower Mark Blekherman and upper Alex Renaud, which aims to address the lack of language education opportunities for elementary school students in the area. Instead of its traditional location in Agora, next year’s ESSO Interest Night will be held in Grainger Auditorium to provide clubs with more space for advertising. ESSO leaders noticed that some Exonians, especially some of the preps who they were trying to cater to, turned away from the massive crowd as many found it to be overwhelming. The goal is to inform “ESSOnians” about the clubs offered so that they can determine whether the commitment is right for them. “However, with the loud noise and dense crowd, it can be difficult to convey all the necessary information. With those concerns in mind, we’ve decided to move it into Grainger for next year,” Schroeder said.
Co-Director of Communications and senior Joanna Papadakis said that a major goal for this year is to have every student at Exeter involved in one ESSO club or event.
Off-Campus Clubs Coordinator and senior Aivant Goyal said he looks to increase ESSO’s interactions and reach out to the larger Exeter community all the while focusing on implementing systems to make sure that clubs remain efficient and successful. “Personally I want to work on some of the technology so that things can run smoothly, but as I work with off campus clubs, I hope to be a bigger part of some of those interactions as well—perhaps adding some clubs that expand the ways we interact,” Goyal said.
Schroeder agreed. “As the Director of Communications, I believe that educating people about service opportunities is almost as important as the service itself. If Exonians don’t know what ESSO has to offer, then it will be much harder to provide our help to the Exeter community,” he said.
Children’s Clubs Coordinator and upper Emmett Shell believed that this year ESSO can improve upon communication between co-heads and coordinators. This change, Shell said, will allow club heads to access more resources and allow coordinators to more easily follow the performance of their clubs. ESSO will start using MyAT, a program that all clubs will use to track attendance. “Coordinators will be able to access the same account as the club heads so they can follow how well each club is doing with attendance. This will also make it easier to track how much each person has come to a club when the time for co-head decisions rolls around,” Shell said.
Co-Director of Communications and senior Joanna Papadakis said that a major goal for this year is to have every student at Exeter involved in one ESSO club or event. With such a large and diverse student body, ESSO expects to see a big impact in the community with the help of so many enthusiastic club members.