On Wednesday, February 11, Southern Nazarene University’s Commuter Life hosted its largest spring monthly event, “Build a Bouquet,” in the commuter lounge. More than 50 students attended, creating floral arrangements, wrapping them in paper, and writing Valentine’s cards.
The event was organized by graduate assistant for Commuter Life Jedidiah Huibregtse, with assistance from Emma Riggs, director of Resident and Commuter Life. The lounge in the basement of Webster Commons was arranged into stations where students selected flowers, wrapped bouquets, and personalized cards that both Huibregtse and Riggs designed and printed in the SNU print shop.
Huibregtse’s favorite part of the event was when a group of commuters on the SNU track team built bouquets with the help of other commuters. Huibregtse loved seeing their honesty in asking for assistance and other commuters being quick to offer help. For many, wrapping the bouquet was the most difficult aspect, so those who had mastered the technique stayed to help others. Huibregtse enjoyed hearing about how commuters gave their bouquets to parents or SNU faculty members.
Huibregtse noted, “The goal for Commuter Life is to make sure commuters feel at home, feel seen, and succeed in their journey at SNU.” Huibregtse designed “Build a Bouquet” to be a fun and community-building event. He shared that this has been a highly requested event over the last three years and is loved, especially by female commuters. Huibregtse expressed, “I think it is a great way for commuters to see that we care about them and what they care about. It was a great opportunity to have community and inspire commuters to love others and care about those around them.”
Junior Cody Collins attended the event, where he created a bouquet using lilies and baby’s breath. A fellow commuter friend helped Collins with flower selection. The finance major felt that others at the event were encouraging and very helpful. Collins used his bouquet to ask a fellow student to be his Valentine.
Collins expressed that he enjoys being an SNU commuter. He commented, “It has been a blessing to be at SNU and be at a school that is close to where I grew up.”
Continuing with Huibregtse’s goal to create “a home away from home,” SNU Commuter Life will continue to host monthly events and Commuter Coffees until summer break.
Photo by: Trynitie Krout