Florida A&M’s recreational coordinator, Melverton Walters, is always looking for ways to increase student involvement on campus.
He prides himself on being able to produce quality programs that help improve campus and social life for students at FAMU.
One of his student programs, “Each one, teach one,” serves as an instructional activity program under Efferson Student Union and activities that allows a group of people to learn how to do or play anything they want.
On Mondays from 6-8 p.m., Galimore lanes on FAMU’s campus is dedicated to that opportunity for students.
“You come in with a group of your choice, sign up, specify what activity you want to learn, and I teach it to you throughout a three-week process. At the end of the final week, you have a small tournament within your group. After that, you go find someone else, bring them in and teach them exactly what was taught to you. Each one teach one,” Walters said.
Walters, who is serving his second year as the coordinator, enjoys being able to produce social activities that incorporate learning. Using an educational platform, he has learned to fuse recreation with academics. “Learning to take scores, understanding the dynamics of strategies, and using team-building skills is all part of learning any social activity or sport,” Walters said.
Urban Phillips who has participated in EOTO, describes how he became involved.
“I heard about the program because Mr. Walters is my mentor and I come to him for anything or to talk to him about anything. I saw him bowl one day and was like, ‘Dang he’s pretty good,’ and I never seen a person of color so great at bowling,” Philips said.
Phillips spoke about the benefits of the program and what he enjoys most about it.
“I like it because it’s different. When your whole group of friends knows how to bowl above 150, it gets very competitive and fun. Now we look at where our score was when we first started to now and we laugh at it all the time. Every now and again I play Mr. Walter and he plays with me the first time to boost my confidence, then the second game he destroys me … that just makes me practice even more to get better,” he said.
So far, billiards, bowling, pool, and spades are the most popular activities in the program.
Although the interactive program initially targeted student involvement, it is not limited to the FAMU community.
“Even though I do it for the FAMU community, I don’t want it to be just a FAMU thing. I want to reach out to youth in the community also .. it’s the summer time and a lot of them don’t have anything to do. So it’s a way to connect with older kids .. FAMU students. Developing relationships in the community to help people connect to one another is the goal,” Walters said.
Walters strongly believes that building social skills is just as important as building educational skills. He hopes that this program, along with other social events on campus will fuse the social gaps between Greeks, non-Greeks, clubs, organizations and the student body as a whole. It might even increase faculty involvement, he said.
“I love my job and I love my students. They bring so much energy to me and keep me feeling youthful. Plus I have wonderful colleagues and a team who help me. It’s amazing.”
Other programs available under Efferson Student Union include “Midday replay” where you can come and watch your favorite show from 12:30 p.m. – 5 p.m., Monday through Friday in the Rattlers Den. The “Fang Out,” which is a combination of social events hosted at the facilities under Efferson Student Union, include the Rattlers Den, Galimore Lanes, and the Courtyard. There is also “No Tap Bowling League,” which is in session until Aug. 1.
Walters is preparing for the “Spot light bowling tournament,” which serves as a socializing event targeted at incoming freshman. The event will take place Aug. 1 at Galimore Lanes bowling alley on campus. For more information visit https://orgsync.com/142481/news_posts/289316