By Brittney Payette
From 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Student Support Services celebrated its thirty-fifth anniversary at Cameron with cake and punch with fellow SSS members and staff.
SSS is an organization on campus that provides a variety of services and assistance to students who are a part of the program.
Some of the services SSS provides include math and writing labs that are only for SSS members, cultural trips, workshops, and even technical equipment such as smart pens that SSS students can check out.
Senior early childhood education major Destiny Hall said she loves SSS.
“It’s like my second home,” Hall said. “I feel welcome. They give me anything I need. It just makes me feel like I belong. It helps me to focus on my stuff, what I need to do. It made me the person I am today.”
Hall said she had used several resources SSS provides for its members.
“I’ve used the writing lab, which is in Nance Boyer,” she said. “The math lab has also helped me.”
The thirty-fifth anniversary celebration is not the only celebration SSS had in October. From 1-3 p.m. on Oct. 20 in the Shepler Ballroom, SSS had its Fall Fun Fest featuring a large variety of snacks, candy, pumpkins to decorate, a photo backdrop, and bingo.
Members and staff alike could pick something from the prize box if they got a bingo.
Freshman guidance specialist Cathleen Dutton said SSS had undergone many changes over the years, especially regarding how the program presents its workshops.
“A lot of it is virtual now,” Dutton said. “We give opportunities where students can now join in through Zoom for a workshop… A lot of the technology portion of SSS has changed.”
Dutton said SSS has also started having some workshops on the weekend, which they used not to do. They also have many of their cultural trips on the weekend as well.
“A lot more students are available during that time to partake in that activity,” Dutton said. “Sometimes just giving that weekend is what they need.”
Dutton said the program emphasizes student participation.
“We give students opportunities to present workshops,” Dutton said. “Not everybody knows about that. That’s a great experience for them. To be able to do something like that.”
Dutton said she helps with resources on and off campus.
“I always try to go above and beyond to find who I know who might have what they’re needing,” Dutton said. “It’s just an awesome resource to have.”
Sophomore allied health major Denise Wilson said she benefited greatly from SSS.
“I think that SSS is a great place for students to come and interact with each other,” Wilson said. “We have great counselors, great help. I enjoy the interactions, the culture trips.”
SSS director Doreen Thomas does a multitude of jobs within SSS, including overseeing day-to-day operations, doing the budget, filling out paperwork for the government to continue receiving funding, and more.
Thomas said she has been working for SSS for 25 years and was a member of SSS when she was a student at Cameron.
“SSS was a big part in kind of shaping me into who I am today,” she said. “Probably if it wasn’t for SSS, I wouldn’t be where I am today.”
Dutton and Thomas both said they really want more students to join SSS. If you have an academic need, are a first-generation student, have a disability, or meet federal guidelines for having an economic need, then you qualify for SSS.
“It’s a wonderful program,” Dutton said. “We have technology equipment that we loan out to our students if they’re in need, like laptops. We encourage our students to apply even if they don’t think they qualify… We’re there for them from the time they start until they graduate.”
For more information, email SSS at StudentSupportServices@cameron.edu or visit their Cameron website https://www.cameron.edu/office-of-teaching-and-learning/academic-services/student-support-services.
