The Student Life & Leadership department in collaboration with Club Rush, the Student Service Fair and the Student Affairs Department, hosted their 2nd annual DiscoveRio on Sept. 10 and 11, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Rio Hondo’s mid quad.
For students, one of the greatest aspects of DiscoveRio is to have the opportunity to network.
The Student Affairs services offer the opportunity to help all students by contributing to government relations, providing educational resources and many other things.
There are various types of student leaders at RHC, for students interested in becoming a student leader, the best way to decide which opportunities one may choose, is to decide which opportunities may go hand in hand with ones’ major.
Club Rush is a collaboration within the Student Life & Leadership Department, the Associated Students of Rio Hondo College (ASRHC), and the Inter-Club Council (I.C.C.).
Last year I.C.C. had around 25 clubs, this year; they are approximating about 30. RHC offers a variety of clubs ranging from academic, department based, and social.
Some of the academic based clubs include Phi Beta Lambda (PBL) and Alpha Gamma Sigma (AGS). PBL is national recognized club for any student interested in business.
To join students do not necessarily need to be business majors but may be interested in pursuing business law, becoming a psychologist and owning ones’ business.
Once students apply to transfer, within the UC application, and TAG application, there will be a list of programs that students can check off stating that their involvement, and PBL is on that list.
AGS has been a club and organization for over 45 years at RHC. It is a state recognized Honor Society. Their alumni are impeccable, ranging from some of RHC Dean’s, Directors, and other faculty.
A minimum GPA of a 3.0 is required however; a great incentive to being a part of AGS is that there will be a statement on ones’ transcript stating that they were part of the state recognized Honor Society.
This is extremely beneficial because many students don’t grasp the reality that CSU’s only review a student’s GPA, major prep, and units.
Only UC applications consist of a Personal Statement, where students are able to express any involvement in leadership roles.
AGS members are also recognized during RHC’s graduation by wearing a gold stole and chord. They are also given an AGS seal on their diploma.
Some department-based clubs include Puente and the Hispanic Scholarship Fund (HSF). Puente is based off of the English department and is also one of those programs that anyone of its members are able to check off their participation on their UC transfer application.
Any student may join the Puente club, even if they are not part of the program.
RHC is the only community college that has a HSF chapter. HSF’s main mission is to support all students with a guaranteed scholarship.
Any student is able to join the club, however to be able to qualify for a scholarship the only requirement is to have a 3.0 GPA.
About 70 percent of RHC students are Hispanic/Latino which makes this club a large voice for RHC students, yet any student regardless of being or not being a Latino may join and apply for the scholarship.
One of this year’s newest clubs is P.A.L.s, Peer Advisory Leaders. It is a peer-mentoring program for first year students that allow them to be matched to a continuing RHC student/mentor.
Although one of their goals is to host scholarship workshops, to help students apply for RHC scholarships, this club is a social support group for students on and off campus. One of the activities that P.A.L.s will be having is a Pizza Picnic in the lower quad on Sept. 25.
The French club is another social club at RHC. Being fluent in French is not mandatory. Taking a French class is not mandatory either.
French club offers RHC students the opportunity to experience French culture. They are known for their French Picnics, excursions to museums and a dinner at a French restaurant at the end of the semester.
DiscoveRio brings together Club Rush and the Student Services Fair; both are crucial for all students due to the various opportunities that they offer in networking.
DiscoveRio launches the start to a new year; a new semester to make friends, join clubs, organizations, and programs and to learn about different directions one can take regarding their education.
