On Tuesday, Sept. 9, the Rowan Boulevard Apartments (Robo) hosted a CD painting program with orange juice as a community activity.

This event allowed students to get their complimentary CD and begin to paint it with a multitude of different colors while getting a refreshing drink of vitamin C. 

The community assistant of the Robo apartments who planned the event was Ren Szeto, a 22-year-old senior in the music industry major. The CD painting program was a way to give students a chance to be involved with their community while getting a chance to do art.

“Over the summer, my sister and I were doing different arts and crafts, and one of those times she brought up CD painting. At first, I wasn’t sure what she meant, but after doing it, she gave me the idea to do it at Rowan. I thought it would be great to inspire students to do art and get a chance to be creative while they are here,” said Szeto

One of the participants at the event was Emma Ramirez, a 20-year-old junior radio, television, and film major here at Rowan. Ramirez goes to these events regularly, and she chooses to paint a TXT album cover.

“I am a resident at another dorm, but I wanted to show up. I like to go to these types of events where I get to meet other people while also being able to make something and take it home with me,” said Ramirez.

Another participant was Joseph Salerno, a 19-year-old sophomore communications studies major. He is a resident of the Robo apartments and took advantage of the opportunity to be a part of the program. Salerno decided to paint the Footloose album cover.

“I heard from the CAs [Community Assistants] that live in Robo that this was going to happen today. I wanted to be more involved with the things happening around campus, so I decided to come here and get to do something,” said Salerno.

A third attendee who came to the program was Marylyn Fernandez-Medina, a 19-year-old sophomore majoring in psychology. She is a painter in her own time and wanted to be a part of this activity as she painted flowers against a sunset. 

“I like getting a chance to do things that I already like to do while also being able to get involved with the community. I would like to come to more events like this moving forward,” said Fernandez-Medina.

Rowan is constantly hosting events like these for all students around campus, all the time, and they are always open to everyone. All it takes to be involved with the community is to take that first step, showing up.