The best part of college you aren’t experiencing. With nearly 50 groups represented from gamers to surfers to science enthusiasts, there’s a place for everyone.
In an age of social media, face to face interactions are harder to come by. Being part of an organization gives students a chance to connect on the human level of social interaction rather than staring at a computer screen. Humans need that bond, which is essential to living.
“Being in the ASL club makes me feel connected to my peers and the communities we support. It makes me feel good about what I am doing with my education, and knowing students who think the same way I do,” says Danielle Lovell, an American Sign Language student, as well as an active member of the ASL Club.
Being an active part of her community is important to Lovell.
“We really focus on raising awareness for the deaf community, creating events where deaf people and ASL students can interact. All in all, it brings people together.”
Personal growth is another great benefit of participating in clubs. Life is about learning, living and experiencing together and growth happens at so many levels. Students grow when they get out of their comfort zone and try something new, taking a chance at something they ordinarily wouldn’t.
Grady Cairns, president of the DSC Creative Writing Club, “Those Who Wander,” reveals, “It makes me feel like I have a place to be myself. Writing gives me an outlet and the Writing Club gives me an outlet to share how I feel on the inside.”
Those Who Wander adviser Professor Jill Clark realized the need for a creative channel in her students.
“I started the club because I was identifying creative students in my classroom and around the college that might benefit from a collaborative, like-minded group of artists.”
Her instincts were right on target. The group has been gathering, wandering, writing and publishing for four years now. Several of its members have been recognized for their excellence at the annual Florida College System Publications Association awards, one of which Deborah Jones won Best Fiction Writing at the October event.
Clubs can be a great place for students to find themselves or uncover hidden talents they may not have known existed. Involvement looks great on resumes and job applications as well. It is a way of showing future employers a true passion for what you are doing. Clubs also instill a sense of brotherhood and sisterhood among peers.
“The relationships cultivated and the knowledge gained is unsurpassable. It has confirmed my passion for signing and facilitated my learning. Only a percentage of what you learn is in a classroom, but by being involved in the community you build upon that by magnitudes,” says Lovell.
Cairns agrees. “Being in a club brings people together that might not be friends outside of the environment.”
So how many negative aspects to joining clubs are there? “None what so ever,” declares Lovell. And In Motion could not agree more.