From group costumes for Halloween to creating and sharing program-specific memes, the Oklahoma Polytechnic Association for Learning (OPAL) builds a community of belonging among OU Polytechnic Institiute (OUPI) students.
“OPAL's job is to bring together students and to encourage innovation at OUPI,” said Tarah Hayes, the oragnization's staff sponsor. “Its focused on providing resources to students, creating opportunities for extracurricular activities, and ensuring all OUPI students feel accepted and welcomed.”
Every month, OPAL officers meet with OUPI faculty and staff for executive meetings to maintain an open dialogue with the purpose of learning how to accomplish OPAL goals and to find and fill gaps between students and faculty. During student body meetings, OPAL invites OUPI students to discuss current agenda items and potential goals.
“OPAL meets students right where they're at,” said Sanaa Byron, a cybersecurity major and vice president and social media manager of OPAL. “We ask our peers what they would like to see and how we can use this organization to give the students the best advantage to success.”
OPAL has also taken advantage of OUPI’s Tech Tuesdays, a weekly event for guest speakers and workshops, where William Freeman, president of OPAL and a cybersecurity major, recently hosted his own workshop that tied together his research as a McNair Scholar and website development. OPAL also plans to attend conferences to network and build their skills; like when they attended BSidesOK, a free information security conference for hands-on security trainings.
As OUPI continues to expand with additional programs and learning opportunities, OPAL students are excited to see what the future will hold for them.
“I hope that as the OUPI student body grows, we do too as an organization,” Freeman said. “I would like to see our capacity to support students increase over time to accommodate for a larger student body.”
Future growth and goals include supporting the opening of a food pantry on the OU-Tulsa campus, creating subgroups based on mutual interests, and assisting with recruiting efforts. Those interested in following OPAL’s growth can follow them @OPAL.OU on Instagram.
