The Council of Black Students in Administration at Creative Living for their collaborative cookout on Wednesday. Credit: Ambar Javier
Last Wednesday, members of the Council of Black Students in Administration gathered with residents of Creative Living for a night of barbecue and games, to promote inclusion between the nonprofit and Ohio State students.
The event was held with the goal of uniting the CBSA and other OSU students with the residents of Creative Living, and took place at the Creative Living facility on South Campus.
Creative Living provides handicap accessible housing for those with serious disabilities to help them live more self-sufficient lives, along with on-sight staff members to assist residents in need.
“The organization has been right behind our campus for [more than] 18 years and no one really knows about it,” Alex Jackson, fourth year in marketing and co-president of CBSA said.
After volunteering at Creative Living for the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service, Jackson was inspired to continue working with the organization. She then reached out to their coordinator Sarah Maggied, they agreed to join forces and the 2019 cookout was planned.
“With volunteer opportunities people always think that they are limited to giving their time to the less fortunate and things like that,” Jackson said. “We’re all minorities so being able to just have a good time for an organization that needed that interaction was a great mutual benefit.”
The national organization strives on volunteer work and professional development for students in the field of business, Tori Miller, fourth year in human resources and president of CBSA said.
“We bring in companies that are looking to share their diversity initiatives, bringing us internship opportunities, and things along those lines that make the workplace appeal to students of color,” Miller said.
As president and co-president of the organization, Miller and Jackson take on the roles of coordinating events, volunteering opportunities and electing candidates for the executive board.
“We have become the faces of the organization,” Jackson said.
In the past, CBSA has held events to introduce students to companies like Abercrombie & Fitch, Target and JP Morgan Chase. These events allow for students to network with professionals and have a feel for the field that they are getting into.
Students interested in joining the Council of Black Students in Administration can reach out to The Office of Diversity and Inclusion or any members of their executive board.
