Twenty percent of students do not engage in extracurricular activities, according to a physics student’s survey.

Matt Bacho, a first-year physics student, surveyed 50 students to gather data on student engagement in campus clubs, student organizations and work-study programs for his honors project in statistics with professor Kevin Tolliver.

“I think it’s really cool,” Tolliver said. “I … [hope] it grows to become something bigger and it makes some actual change.”

The research also concluded that 25% of students do not use The Nest, AACC’s website for organizations, clubs and events. The majority, 38%, of students who use The Nest use it for clubs, more than anything else.

According to Tolliver, it was “really exciting” when Bacho approached him to start the project.

“I immediately thought, ‘This could be a lot of fun,’” Tolliver said. “[I] love to, like, work with students in designing their own statistical projects that interest them.”

The project has “evolved” since it started, according to Bacho, the vice president of finance for the Student Government Association.

“We are going to use this information … to inform the Office of Student Engagement and other staff members,” Bacho said.

OSE can use the data to determine what “resources aren’t being used” and to “assess what to do” about it, according to Bacho.

Bacho said working on the project has taught him an “incredibly useful skill” that he will “take into the real world.”

“Going out into the field [and] learning how to assess public perception … and then turning that into something actionable—that’s going to be incredibly helpful in the future,” Bacho said. “I’m glad that I had this experience.”

Bacho added, “Even if statistics isn’t your thing … there’s all sorts of honors-eligible classes where you just get to work with your professor on a project. … I definitely think everybody should consider it.”