Why it Pays to Join Clubs at School
When you get to campus, one of the first things you notice is the myriad university clubs and organizations that are available for you to join. During the first couple of weeks at school, many of these clubs and campus organizations set up booths advertising what they are about, what they offer, and try to attract prospective new members.
So many university clubs to choose from
Depending on the size of the university, nearly every political, religious, sexual, and niche group is represented. There are clubs for those who like organic gardening, for campus liberals, conservatives, snowboarders, RC airplane enthusiasts, investment club, bird watchers, and the list goes on. Campus life, classes, parties, and student residences are all great ways to meet new people. But if you really want to increase your chances of meeting people who share your interests and passions, then campus clubs and organizations are the way to go.
No guessing game required
If you enter a room filled with 100 randomly selected people from your college or university campus, what are the odds that the first five people you speak to share your passions and interests? That’s not to say you can only be friends with people who share all your passions and interests, but one of the fastest ways to bond with a new person is over what you have in common, and one of the best ways to increase the odds you have a happy and fulfilling time at university is to join a club. Making friends, even meeting a potential romantic interest, can seem like a crap shoot when there are, potentially, tens of thousands of people to meet.
This is especially the case if you are someone with niche, or highly specific interests. If your passion is working on old cars, it is unlikely the first person you sit beside, or the one randomly appointed to you in a shared dorm room is going to share that passion. If you are a photography geek, and love talking camera minutiae, it’s a safe bet the first person you sit beside in your 200-person psychology course won’t share that hobby.
Networking opportunities
Another reason to get involved with a university club, or clubs, is to meet people with whom you might be able to network. This is especially true if you are interested in turning your hobby into a future job. If your dream is to turn your passion into a full-blown career, or even some kind of side hustle, knowing other people who are also passionate about the same thing is a great way to open doors. In a Forbes article entitled “The 5 Best Ways to Network While You’re Still in College,” author Liz Wessel, talks about how her time spent in her college’s ‘model congress’ introduced her to a number of interesting people, one of whom eventually became an advisor to her company, and with whom she has since invested money.
Many times networking events that are not designed around a shared interest or passion can seem like an act of pure self interest. When you meet and network with people in a club setting, where everyone is operating on the assumption you all have something in common (why else would you have voluntarily joined that specific club?) you are exposed to people who you can not only connect with on a personal level, but who might be useful allies and strategic partnerships for you down the road.
Extracurricular opportunities
Another good reason to join a university club or organization is because of the extracurricular opportunities it offers you. While spending enough time reading, writing, and studying is certainly a must while at school, you should not have to altogether forfeit experiences outside the classroom in order to feel like you’ve had a successful academic career. A large component of the university experience is taking advantage of the out-of-school experiences that abound. If you are going to school close to a local ski hill, and there is a ski and snowboard club on campus (which often offer discounts on day and season passes), then that particular club might be the perfect way to work in a weekly, or bi-weekly trip up the mountain.
It’s also a surefire way to make certain that you always have someone to do something extracurricular with. Not all of your friends are going to share your niche, or subculture interests, nor will they always have time to do things with you. A club will likely have a Facebook page, and group chats where people are always coming and going, setting up events, or scheduling trips.
Academic diversity
Most people, especially people studying something highly specialized at college and university, end up surrounded by people from that same specialization. As the years progress, and you begin to select a major, start applying to different programs, even move schools entirely, friend groups have a tendency to become academically insular.
Joining a club is a great way to mitigate against ending up in an intellectually homogeneous social group. If you are a social sciences student interested in building freshwater aquariums, the aquarist club will likely contain people from all manner of disciplines, at various stages of their academic careers (undergraduate, masters, PhD) to interact and make friends with. This could end up exposing you to additional interests, intellectual pursuits, reading material, political ideologies, etc. that you never knew existed.
Many people find it difficult to make new friends and find like-minded individuals, even on a campus with tens of thousands of students. While the social potential of the university experience is indeed limitless, tapping into it is the hard part. If you feel like you are spending too much time in the library, and not enough time pursuing interests and developing meaningful relationships, get in touch with Homework Help Global and commission one of our writing services. University clubs and social events are as much a part of the university experience as anything else.
References:
Coldwell, W. (2012). “Student Societies: A Great Way to Make Friends at Uni.” The Guardian. Retrieved from: https://www.theguardian.com/education/2012/aug/16/clearing-extra-curricular-societies
Wessel, L. (2016). “The 5 Best Ways to Network While You’re Still in College.” Forbes. Retrieved from: https://www.forbes.com/sites/lizwessel/2016/09/07/the-5-best-ways-to-network-while-youre-still-in-college/#79ffcf982e15
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