With the start of every new school year, many students find themselves friendless and alone on campus. Fortunately for Bellevue College students, the road to social networking is an easy one. With more than 50 clubs chartered by the ASG for the 2010 school year, meeting new people is almost effortless.
Whether you’re interested in ice cream, philosophy, role playing, or human rights, there is a club for you.
Clubs have a lot to offer college students. Not only are they a great way to meet new people, they also offer opportunities to students outside of school.
After graduation, a club on your resume gives you an extra edge over the competition. In today’s job market, any advantage may help.
Extracurricular activities allow you to implement what you learn in your classes for practical situations.
If you’re taking an economics class, you can join Finance Club; chemistry students can join Chemistry club. The choices are not endless, but there are quite a few.
Similarly, clubs offer experience that a classroom cannot. In a club, you are able learn how to deal with different personalities so you’re better equipped in the “real world” to deal with that jerk in the cubicle next to you.
You can also learn how to work in groups, how to collaborate, set up meetings—things that you might eventually need to know and simultaneously develop. It can also improve your portfolio.
Along with that, by joining a club you can pursue something you’re genuinely interested in and meet people who like the same things you do.
Most importantly, clubs and extracurricular activities are fun! When studying for exams and doing homework becomes tedious and stressful, a club can be an outlet for anxiety.
BC even has an Art of Living: Yoga and Service Club. “The main thing is that we let go of stress and have fun through Yoga,” said the club’s president Penelope Holliday.
Clubs are a vital component of the college experience and students should be eager to partake in any activity that might interest them.
“I believe without that small experience, whether you contributed a lot or a little, you miss out on a chance to say ‘hey I was a part of that’ or ‘we made a difference when I was part of the club.’ Honestly, it’s a great feeling to know you can say that too,” said Daniel J. E. Lile, president of the Latin American Culture Club.
BC’s assortment of clubs can offer its students the kind of fun and experience they need when they move on to the next stage of their lives.
However, BC might not have everything you’re looking for. “There should be more intramural sports at BC,” said student Skyy Le. Maybe one day there will be.
The important thing is to get out there, go to the Student Programs office and find out if there is a club at BC that you would be interested in joining. Once you do, the chances of enriching your social life, resume or portfolio, will greatly improve—you might even have some fun