Over Memorial Day weekend, students from the University of Houston-Downtown (UHD) took part in a growing partnership with Comicpalooza, the state’s largest pop culture festival, increasing UHD’s visibility and supporting recruitment efforts at one of the state’s largest pop culture conventions.
The university has been involved with Comicpalooza for approximately four years now, having promoted the Esports program at panels and later receiving sponsorship with Gator Con, UHD’s own pop culture festival. Thanks to this relationship, established by Esports Coordinator Ricky Rodriguez, Comicpalooza entrusted UHD Esports with running the Comicpalooza FIFA tournament. In addition to helping with the tournament, Esports partnered with UHD Admissions to promote the university at a festival booth. There, an estimated mix of 250 prospective students, current students, and alumni stopped by to chat.
Students affiliated with UHD Esports have about 15 opportunities per semester to volunteer at a variety of outreach events, but Comicpalooza is easily the largest. On top of the standard representation and outreach responsibilities, students acquired hands-on experience in moderating games, running crowd control, and tracking scores for competitors. “Comicpalooza management were really, really impressed by the students’ dedication,” Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez also emphasized the reciprocal benefits events like this give volunteers— by representing the university, they’re also learning important communication skills. “We focus on building up students’ communication skills so they can connect with incoming freshmen,” he explained. “At events I see them opening up to others and saying things like, ‘Hey, I want to be your mentor. I want to help guide you through the college life, especially if you come to UHD.’”