One year ago, our Office of Student Development began meeting virtually to figure out how to maintain Birmingham-Southern student life through remote working and learning. Ever since those virtual events and a cautious return to campus, we’ve had mechanical bulls at the fountain, food trucks and flower arrangements, coffee and tea breaks, and more – all while keeping the campus community safe under COVID-19 guidelines.

Assistant Director of Residence Life Chris Moon, Associate Dean of Students Dr. Brandon Brown, and First-Year Student Success Advisor Aaliyah Moore at the Wellness Week fall farmer’s market.

Dana Bekurs, assistant dean of students, has seen the Student Development office create new and successful events like never before. Stu Dev staff planned virtual events during spring 2020, but they quickly realized students wanted to be part of in-person events and community.

“Five years from now, we’ll wonder how we’ve done all of this,” Bekurs says. “As someone who’s been doing programming for 20 years, we’ve had to do everything differently. And we actually created some changes and new events that we’re going to keep.”

One of the first campus-wide events of fall term was the fall festival held in October. Students picked out pumpkins and created their own flower arrangements. Between taking turns on the mechanical bull, they could also play with animals at the petting zoo.

The fall festival set the tone for events that worked during the pandemic – all outdoors, with everyone masked. Student Development brought food trucks from Heavenly Donuts, City Bowls, Porky’s Pride, and more for socially-distant dining.

Later in the fall, the Office held more events like this, often working alongside other student organizations including the Student Government Association and Quest II. They helped put on events during SGA’s Wellness Weeks, like an outdoor farmer’s market with local produce and student vendors.

Students picked out pumpkins and flowers at the fall festival.

“The factor of enjoying school life hasn’t gone down,” said sophomore Sloan Miles in a WVTM 13 news story about the fall term. “When we look back on it, we’ll be able to prove to a lot of people that we were one of the few schools in the nation to actually pull this off.”

Along with these in-person events, Student Development has also had successful virtual events, often through their Instagram @bscengage. They held a Mask Madness competition – a bracket for the coolest mask design – and sent out digital Starbucks gift cards during spring and fall 2020 finals when students were at home.

The team has also carried on traditions like Mama’s Home Cooking, Late Night Breakfast, and Halloween on the Hilltop. Meals were pre-prepared and numbers were limited to make the events possible.

“I think my favorite memory so far has been working the Late Night Breakfast in the dining hall, right before students left for the winter break,” says Assistant Director of Residence Life Chris Moon, who first came to BSC in early 2020. “While it was different than times past, it was still an incredible experience to interact with so many students and wish them luck on finals.”

Each sorority had a chance to celebrate bids outdoors and distanced at Bid Distribution.

Throughout the academic year, Student Development has offered events every week – and almost every day during E-Term 2021 with a record number of students on campus – all while serving as contact tracers and closely monitoring the spread of COVID-19 among BSC students. The staff has played an important role in keeping the community safe and establishing a new “normal” for BSC life.

Bekurs looks at these events as a staff member and as a parent, since her daughter Sadie Bekurs is a first-year student. She knows how important events like Bid Day are, and the Student Development team worked hard to keep everyone safe during events. BSC held a Bid Distribution for sororities, allowing each group 10 minutes on the intermural fields, completely masked and distanced. This tradition was something most other schools were not able to hold safely.

“I’m thankful that we’re at a school that gave the opportunity to be in person,” Bekurs says. “We were smart, and we have faculty and students who want to be in the classroom. And students have been following all the rules to make this happen.”

Support Student Development and other areas of student life by making a gift to the Forward Ever Fund.