SALISBURY — College students descended on Bell Tower Green Thursday evening for activities, community engagement and networking opportunities.

College Night Out is an annual celebration organized by Salisbury Downtown Development/DSI in which students from Livingstone College, Hood Theological Seminary, Catawba College and Rowan-Cabarrus Community College are invited out to the park for music trivia, karaoke, bingo and dance contests.

The event features several community vendors, organizations and agencies that set up booths to share resources and contact info.

For three local Realtors, the night provided the chance to share their market insights with future home buyers.

Susanna Barinowski, Leska Gilbert and Lori Schilkowski of Keller Williams Realty

“We’ve been handing out some fun candy and bling, but the baskets people can register for are real estate related, investing related, things kids need to know about,” Barinowski said.

One of the books in the basket was “Your First Home” by Jay Papasan and Gary Keller.

“It’s a great book to read while you are in college,” Barinowski said. “A lot of kids when they are in college are thinking that when they immediately get out, they will get a good job, make a bunch of money and buy a home. This book dispels that notion, and it lets them know they should start planning now.”

One familiar group was Rowan County Young Professionals. Several representatives from the organization were at Bell Tower Green to speak with the prospective up-and-coming young professionals who are still finishing their degrees.

“We connect them with internships, jobs and professional networking,” said Nicky Black, a Young Pros member and director of account services at Miller Davis Agency. “It’s not always about networking. We have a kickball team, softball team and intramural tennis. It’s the more fun aspect of it.”

Early in the evening, Black indicated that they had already connected five interns from Catawba College and a couple from Livingstone with the area industries in which the students were interested.

“It’s everything from a videographer to marketing specialists to nonprofit specialists,” Black said.

Getting a taste for different industries can be crucial for up-and-coming professionals seeking to carve out a role in job markets.

“Before you overly commit to your profession, you need to test it out, dip your toes in the water a little bit and make sure that is what you want to do,” Black said.

For other groups, like representatives of Greek organizations, the evening was about showcasing various resources that can enhance campus life and connect them with like-minded individuals.

Terri Stevenson is the associate vice president for student affairs/student engagement at Livingstone College. She was spearheading the Greek organizations that were setting up booths on Thursday. The Divine Nine, as the Black sororities and fraternities are known, are represented among the Livingstone College students and alumni. Getting to put a face on membership is one goal, but so is just offering access to their resources for those who might be curious about joining or learning more.

“All of our nine organizations are international,” Stevenson said. “People can join them in college. You have to have a college degree or be in the process of obtaining one. These are lifelong memberships that people have made into these nine organizations. Most of them were founded at HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities.) Some of them were not, but they were all founded during the period of time when freed slaves were coming into university settings and were able to start their own organizations in order to have people who have a unique and common bond with things that matter to them like social causes.”

Jeremiah Brown Jr., a spring ’24 initiate of the Gamma Mu chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity at Livingstone, was manning his group’s table.

‘We stand on the principles of manly deeds, scholarship and love for all mankind,” Brown said. “First of all, service of all, we shall transcend all.

“Our mission state is that Alpha Phi Alpha promotes brotherhood and academic excellence while providing service and advocacy for our community.”

No matter what the intrepid young students were looking for, College Night Out most likely provided it.