Friday, September 8, 2023 marks Michigan Tech’s Annual Keweenaw Day, K-Day for short. From 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. students will experience over 200 Registered Student Organizations (RSO’s) and their showcase booths at Centennial Park in Chassell, Mich. Sponsored by Student Leadership and Involvement, or SLI, MTU students will see booths from Greek life to intramural sports. Need a ride? Students can catch buses from the Rozsa Center to and from K-Day.
“K-Day is a day to get out and mingle/connect with other students in a fun environment and hopefully make some connections to student organizations that you can be in community with throughout your time at Tech,” said Leah Joy, Coordinator for SLI. “My favorite part was the games and interactive booths,” said undergraduate student Darnell Shields, talking about his experience at K-Day. There’s something at K-Day for everyone, activities and games, food and drinks from local food trucks; and newly this year, a “quiet space” for students to take a break from the hustle and bustle.
Student organizations will use K-Day to advertise themselves to new members, such as the MTU Enterprises, who showcase their projects around the park. Students can learn about different student interests and clubs, “One of the favorite things about K-Day is being unique and being able to meet so many new people … interested in joining all the various organizations,” noted Kyle Magennis, President of Mu Beta Psi, Zeta Chapter, when asked about his favorite parts about preparing for K-Day and advertising to other students.
Member of Beta Sigma Theta, Connor Zavislak, explains why K-Day is important to him and his brothers. “For my fraternity, it is a great opportunity to explain to students who we are, what we stand for, and the things we do, such as community service, academic achievement, and the development of our members into gentlemen.” After K-Day was rained out last year, Zavislak states “We are expecting this year’s K-Day to be an exciting, vibrant event, especially for new students who will get to see all of the RSOs here at Tech and pick out what they’re interested in doing outside of the classroom!”
Sports of all kinds also attend K-Day. President of the MTU Women’s Rugby Club, Janae Koetje, shares her thoughts on the event. “We are excited to be outside for K-Day this year so we can bring some of the team dogs, and throw the ball around!” Koetje is a third year Biomedical Engineering student, and is going into her first year as President of the club. She also commented that “Anyone who wants to play rugby is welcome on our team, no experience necessary.”
Whether you’re a first year, just trying to find your way around college life, or a returning student looking for more things to participate in around campus. K-Day is a great way to end your search as Director of SLI, Danielle Meirow says, “While we want folks to enjoy the event itself, we really want them to find a group they are excited about that can become part of their experience here at Michigan Tech.”
