April 12, 2022
East Texas Baptist University hosted the annual Connexus event on Thursday, April 7, 2022. The purpose of Connexus is to join together and celebrate a pursuit of excellence as the University grows and builds God’s Kingdom in love. Based on scripture in Ephesians 4:16, Connexus is a day of celebration designed to honor all campus community members as contributors to advance the mission of East Texas Baptist University. The goal of Connexus is to foster a spirit of togetherness among students, faculty, and staff of ETBU. This year’s Connexus celebrated a Hawaiian theme.
“I love planning Connexus because it’s an honor to put together a day for students to just have fun,” senior speech pathology major Kelsey Darby said. “My favorite event at Connexus this year was the Luau because authentic Hawaiian performers showcased their culture and talents.”
Students participated in activities like lei making, a themed lunch, and fairground activities throughout the day, including a dunk tank with faculty, archery tag, and carnival foods. Throughout the day, Student Foundation handed out 300 commemorative Connexus 2022 t-shirts, 940 paper umbrellas, and 4,000 real flowers from Hawaii.
“My favorite thing about Connexus was the dunking booth,” freshman public relations major Halli Fulton said. “Seeing all my favorite staff members get dunked was funny to watch.”
The day concluded with a campus-wide luau where authentic Hawaiian dancers provided a show where students learned how to dance and watched a performer dance with fire. After the show concluded, students could participate in a limbo contest, cornhole, or line dances.
“I loved how Connexus was a community event,” sophomore Christian ministry major Bailey Munch said. “It was really cool to see everyone hanging out together. My favorite part this year was the morning activity where we all got to make Hawaiian leis with each other. Connexus is designed to be a day where the entire school comes together, and I think it did exactly that.”