The Queens College chapter of the National Student Speech Language Hearing Association pulled together to host their first major event on campus, bringing more than 79 members of the campus community together for a fundraiser that benefited the American Cancer Society on Nov. 15.
Named “Glow for the Cure,” attendees entered the race track behind the Science Building, were greeted with glow sticks at the door and encouraged to walk around the lit up race track that was covered with both glow in the dark balloons and blinking lights.
NSSLHA, an organization on campus for students interested in the study of normal and disordered human communication, has previously only hosted a string of bake sales, but newly elected officials inducted this past June set out to make NSSLHA a more active and accessible club on campus.
“We didn’t like the direction it was taking so when we came in we made it our goal to completely change it. We wanted our members to be able to come to us, to reach out to us with any cause, with any concern, with any ideas and we wanted it to be a club that was run by everyone,” Stephanie Zurva, vice president of NSSLHA, said.
When thinking about what kind of event to create for the semester, NSSHLA also cited their desire to attract those not involved in campus life as the driving force behind any of their ideas.
“We were thinking of ideas and [Zurva] said ‘I’m going to think of something that will make me want to go on campus, something that I will attend,’ because she was the type of person that never really went to events or that was ever involved on campus, so she came up with this great idea and I thought it was amazing,” Marina Vazura, president of NSSHLA, said.
With an active roster of about 80 students, NSSLHA also received an outpour of help from local businesses and professors. A local Starbucks and AVON donated a variety of gift baskets and gift cards that were raffled off at the event.
The walk also featured a live DJ and a performance by the college’s Classical Singers Career Development Club.
“I never really go to events, but this one was really fun. It was very creative,” Joo Yeong, a psychology major said.
Overall, attendance for the event was lower than expected by NSSLHA, but members like Michelle Martinez still believe the club is going in the right direction.
“As a speech-language pathology major at QC, I must say that this year’s NSSLHA club is by far the most passionate group I have ever encountered,” Martinez said.
The total amount of money raised for the American Cancer Society totaled over $500.
