Contributing Reporter Belle Kelly
Lillian Green and Meg Yenser have been planning the new-to-campus Reformed University Fellowship (RUF) formal for months, and it all finally paid off this week.
RUF is a national college ministry that seeks to target college students and strengthen the church in their places of study.
At Samford, RUF meets weekly in Hodges Chapel, equipped with an ordained pastor, to have a worship service. The ministry also has events, participates in intramural sports and hosts Bible studies throughout the year.
But, in the fall of 2024, Green and Yenser started discussing an idea that would take RUF events a step further: “RUFormal,” an event that many other universities’ RUF groups host annually.
The two shared conversations about a way to make “RUFormal” happen at Samford. They brainstormed ideas, especially over winter break, and asked friends at other schools how their on-campus group executed the formal. And, once they had a church, Covenant Presbyterian Church, that was willing to give them space to have the event, the idea of “RUFormal” came to life.
Green and Yenser had help executing the idea in their head. Their events team made the playlist for the formal, and RUF staffers handled other logistics, like snacks and decoration. They also planned to have raffles and prizes at the event. Green and Yenser say that they could not have executed RUFormal without the help of the staff, events team and other student help.
“We just kind of say, ‘This is our vision,’ and they help kind of put it into a tangible thing,” Yenser said.
With the help from others to make their vision come to life, Green and Yenser hoped the formal would be a relaxed and easy way to spend time with RUF friends.
“It is our first year doing it, but I’m really excited about it just to add one more thing to look forward to this semester and to round out that RUF community experience,” Green said.
Green and Yenser hoped that the participants at RUFormal would feel comfortable and included most of all, as it is a low-pressure and low-stress event.
“We just want them to feel community, feeling like they have a place in RUF and that it’s a place where you can be fun and silly on top of having those good, deep conversations,” said Yenser.
Green and Yenser hope that RUFormal becomes an annual tradition in future years as they continue to round out the RUF experience.
