LeeU Esports club hosts its inaugural meeting
The Esports club seeks to create an environment where students can enjoy their hobbies and participate in tournaments with their peers.
Photo by Madelaine Setiawan, Staff Reporter
Brand new to Lee University, LeeU Esports held its first informational meeting Feb. 5 in the Humanities lecture hall.
The club's founders, President Ashley Lynch and Head of Tournament Courtney Woodie, shared their aspirations for introducing the club to the Lee University community.
Lynch, an information systems major, explained her dream for the club was to be a place where people on campus who play games could come together in community.
“Sometimes it’s hard to find other gamers, so that’s one of the reasons I wanted to get [the club] started,” Lynch said.
Another reason for starting the club was to increase Lee's public image for the gaming community, according to Lynch.
“That’s also a whole field of opportunities,” Lynch said. “If we have an Esports club, it can attract new people, [and] the larger our club gets it can attract more and more people to the actual school itself.”
Describing the communal aspect to the club, Lynch said Esports plans to host many tournaments for the gaming community to participate in.
“We want to do internal competitions, so if we have some people in the club who…want to basically compete against each other, we want to facilitate with them as well,” Lynch said. “We also want to have official competitive teams who compete in actual tournaments that can win them scholarships.”
Woodie, a sophomore TESOL major, took charge in organizing tournaments for the club’s members. Woodie echoed Lynch's beliefs on how participating in tournaments can unite people.
“When you play in a team game, it’s just so nice to…know that you have people to rely on, and it brings a really healthy, competitive aspect if you play in the right way,” Woodie said. “But also, people find an escape in video games and if you can bring those people together, a lot of times, they form really close relationships.”
Freshmen graphic design major Cason Williams attended the meeting, hoping to be a part of the team.
“I’m hoping I can learn more about competitive gaming, and I hope I can get better about the things I like to play,” Williams said. “I’m actually really looking forward to tournaments. … I’ve never really competed before, except for regular online tournaments. I’d rather enjoy going to actual tournaments with a team I’m used to playing with.”
For students who are interested in the Esports Club, contact them at esports@leeuniversity.edu.
