Happy October!
My name is Quinn Chao (she/her). I’m a junior journalism major and your new Editor-in-Chief!
For my first post on the Rho Chapter Cinejournal, I have some great news to share! We officially have 24 new Associate members of DKA! Over the past month, our recruitment chairs, Destiny and Francis, have done an outstanding job finding professional, curious, and creative students to come join our cinematic society. We can’t wait to get to know our new class more and see their DKA Story come to life.
The theme of this year's recruitment was “Tell Your Story with DKA”. Destiny and Francis organized fun events like Round Tables, where the topics ranged from “What Media Inspires You?” to “Representation in Film”. We also had “Collab Night” where PNMs (Potential New Members) and Actives got a chance to collaborate through drawing art and creating skits. These events were where we really got to know PNMS and how they would tell their story with DKA.
Without Destiny and Francis, we would not have these amazing Associate members and so, I asked Destiny and Francis to do an “exit interview”. Leaving a job can be bittersweet, especially when your position has had such a great impact on everyone around you. Here’s what they had to say:
How did you feel at the beginning vs. the end of the Recruitment Cycle? Destiny: At the beginning I was definitely a little bit nervous. I had just gone through recruitment and new member education myself, so I was scared I wouldn’t know enough about the position, but I was definitely excited to get started! At the end, however, I was so incredibly proud of the work that Francis and I did. We worked super hard throughout the summer and over the first few weeks of class, and it feels like it all really paid off. Francis: I was really nervous too to be honest. The more we were made aware of how many members were leaving the more pressure I kind of felt to make as much people rush DKA as possible. However, after recruitment finished I felt a huge weight off my shoulders. I’m definitely gonna miss doing it and working with Destiny!
What was your best day on the job like? Destiny: The best day of the position was probably Bid Night. It was a weird feeling to realize that it was all officially over and our jobs were done. I was so excited to see our beautiful new class of 24 associates, and I can’t wait to see the amazing things they accomplish. Francis: Collab night for sure! It was our first time doing the event with the take we had and it was such a fun time seeing it run so smoothly and the PNMs and actives having fun collaborating with each other.
Looking back, would you do anything differently? Destiny: We spoke about this after recruitment was over with our diversity and inclusion chairs, but I wish we did a little more work geared toward diversity/inclusion during the recruitment cycle. Whether that means creating more diverse events or including a diversity statement before each round of voting, it’s something that could always be worked on. Francis: I agree completely. I also would maybe change blue chip from a dinner to a mixer. Some PNMs were confused and were totally expecting something different and I apologize for that!
How will you enjoy your time off? Destiny: Now that recruitments over, I’ll definitely be enjoying some much needed time off. I spent a few days simply being lazy and having “self-care days”, but now it’s time to start being productive again- homework, orgs, and other DKA events! Francis: By working with the new class and Dekas, wrecking fellow DeKAs in smash, and making cool stuff!
Thanks again to Destiny and Francis for another great recruitment cycle! Your work never goes unnoticed and we are so happy to have you as lifelong family.