“I felt honored to go to this conference and to be able to speak, but when I was leaving, the thought ran across my mind that UA freshmen needed to have an experience similar to this,” he said.
After the conference, Phillips went to the groups on campus he was involved with, the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Chapter, the Grandeur Gentlemen’s Coterie and the First Year Experience group, to start what he calls the 2nd Half-Finish Strong event.
“This forum is focused on allowing these freshmen to have a second chance with getting involved on campus,” he said. “It’s also to encourage students. So for the freshmen who finished the first semester with a high GPA, they need to continue to work hard. And for the freshmen who maybe messed up first semester, they can still finish strong. And that’s what the name for the forum came from.”
The event will feature a list of panelists from diverse sides of campus including Freshman of the Year 2012 Sean Johnson-Sippial from Alpha Phi Alpha, Community Service Center Director Camille Driver, SGA member Allison Montgomery and many more.
“The panelists we have for this forum are all leaders or recognizable members of various groups of campus,” he said. “The intention was to get a diverse group involved in this panel so it can pique a variety of students’ interests.”
Kiara Summerville, a graduate assistant for the First Year Experience group, said she is excited about this upcoming freshman forum.
“I think students will have the opportunity to really branch out and see everything campus has to offer,” she said.
Summerville said when FYE heard about this forum it wanted to get involved.
“It’s a great way for students to not only learn about different clubs, but also understand how they can get involved because many times students want to join but don’t really know how,” she said.
When it comes to the overall goal for this event, Phillips said he wants students to start joining clubs right away.
“I hope to see within a few weeks or months more students participating in different clubs or activities The University of Alabama has to offer,” he said.
