NIU’s Division of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management will offer a $1,000 scholarship for a video of how students have become involved at NIU.

“We want students to be able to see as many success stories as possible,” said Becky Harlow, assistant director for Community Service. “We want students to share how NIU has been special to them.”

The deadline for video submissions is Dec. 9, and a winner will be chosen early next semester, said Brandi Hephner LaBanc, associate vice-president of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management.

The website also features an online database where students can select their interests and the website will find clubs, organizations and other opportunities that might interest them at NIU.

Harlow said the idea of the website is to show students how many opportunities are available to NIU students.

“Some students have no idea how to make NIU their own,” Harlow said. “We wanted to make sure all students could find a way to make NIU a place for them.”

LaBanc said the initiative is important because it allows students to tell their NIU story.

“Students have a ‘life’ beyond the classroom, and if that experience is not meaningful, they are less likely to persist as a student and succeed as a graduate,” LaBanc said. “Campus involvement is a critical engagement that helps students transition and connect as a Huskie.”

Junior accounting major Ilan Meerovich said involvement in campus activities has made his time at NIU much more enjoyable.

“College is what you make of it,” Meerovich said. “If you get involved more, you will meet more people and have more fun.”

Christina Cray, junior communicative disorder major, said she gets involved in student organizations because they may help with her future.

“It helps me network and get to know other people that have similar interests as me,” Cray said. “Some of these people may be people that I work with some day.”