At UTA, you can get involved in just about anything
Last semester, UTA graduate student Red Jones visited the Maverick Table Tennis club during the biannual Activity Fair and was inspired to get back into the game she loves. Now, a semester later, she’s here recruiting potential new members.
“I’ve been playing table tennis since early middle school; my dad taught me. I didn’t play for a while, and now in college I’m really back into it,” said Jones, who is now president of the club.
More than 300 student organization set up tables and booths along the Library and University Center malls for Maverick Cookout and Activity Fair Day. It’s traditionally held at the beginning of each semester for new and current Mavericks to explore and expand their campus involvement beyond academics.
Students in Engineers Without Borders enjoy both social and academic aspects of the group. Maria Islas, a senior civil engineering major, says it is a volunteer organization that serves across Dallas-Fort Worth. Its main project, however, is in Bolivia, helping a small community get clean water.
“Last summer we went to Bolivia and met with the community to see the scope of the work,” she said. “We’re currently fundraising for the next part of the process and seeing what solutions we can bring to this community to increase their access to clean water.”
The UTA Pre-Optometry Professional Society is a student organization that works to inform students about the field of optometry. According to vice president Laura Speer, the group collaborates within the community to help prevent blindness.
“We work with partners to do vision screenings for people without insurance,” she said. “They also get a voucher for a free eye exam or comprehensive eye exam and glasses, if needed.”
Walkable Arlington is a student-led grassroots organization whose goal is to increase walkability in the city, making it more safe and accessible for pedestrians.
“At Walkable Arlington, we advocate for better, safer sidewalk and bicycle facilities,” said Hyacinth Sable, the group’s president. “The city of Arlington is the largest city in the United States without fixed route public transportation.”
Comprising mostly students from the colleges of Architecture, Planning, and Public Affairs and Engineering, the club has conducted several walking tours throughout Arlington, making notes on areas that are safe for pedestrians and areas that need work to be accessible.
For Mavericks aspiring to become video game developers and designers, there’s the Video Game Developers Organization. Vincent Nguyen says the club has courses and workshops that cover all aspects of game-making.
“One of my favorite things to do is make games with everyone. I think it’s pretty fun,” said Nguyen, a senior software engineering major. “We also have some game nights with the Cybersecurity Club and Mobi; those are pretty fun, too.”
A unique aspect to attending UTA sporting events is seeing the UTA Wranglers, the University’s self-described super fans. Wearing orange-and-blue-striped overalls, the spirit team attends Maverick games to cheer on the participants.
“We’ve got basketball, softball, baseball, volleyball, wheelchair basketball—we cheer all of those,” said Vanessa Solis. “We also participate in activities like homecoming.”
For Solis, being a Wrangler is different from being a cheerleader, where they participants do stunts. “We are very much fun—but we don’t all the flips,” she said.