Why Getting Involved is Worth It

Meeting new people is certainly exhausting. Getting the right friends that you are looking for comes as a huge challenge for many as well. The start of the semester can be bumpy, but clubs can ease your worries a little bit! I always encourage my students to engage in school activities and student-lead clubs!

During your first week of school, you will have a chance to involve in the Fall Fest. Fall Fest is a student organized festival where you can enjoy music, giveaways, food & drink, games, and other entertainment while exploring various student organizations on campus. Every street and quad will be filled with students sharing information and recruiting new members. You may find similar clubs to those you participated in high school such as debate team or publication. Do you want to continue your sport spirits? Club sports and intramural sports are available for anyone regardless of your skill level, or join NU Sports Team to support student athletes! Are you interested in performing art? Northeastern will present you with more than 40 different student organizations just focusing on performing art, whether that is chamber choir, A Capella, or dance group. Do you feel classes won’t give you enough exposure to what you want to learn? Check out different student organizations dedicated to education and academics! From languages to business, you can find all the topics you want to learn right here in the Fall Fest. Take advantage of the location and immerse yourself in an active community by joining political action committee or protest groups. There are endless list of clubs and activities you can do on campus, but if you don’t see just a right one that fits you, you can create one!

Club engagement not only helps you explore and find what you are passionate about but also connects you to students with similar interests! As an incoming student, you will be taking many introductory level classes with fellow first-year students. Believe me, you will have more than enough chance to interact with other freshman. However, connecting and building friendship with upper classmen is equally entertaining and helpful! Ask them about classes they are taking and why they choose their major! You will soon gather valuable information and friendship while participating in an activity you like! It is like killing three birds with one stone!

Engaging in various club activities is one of the greatest decisions I made in college. Huge part of my life is formed by those club activities right now. In the Fall Fest of my freshman year, I joined two performing art clubs, Concert Band and Pep Band. At first, I simply wanted to continue my musical interest and perform with groups of people. I walked up to the booth and simply put my email address down, and that night I got an email from both clubs about open rehearsal. There were many new members, mostly first years, but there were also many returning members from co-ops and classes. As an undeclared student, I had a wonderful opportunity to talk to other freshmen outside of Explore Program about courses they are taking right now, and upperclassman told their stories of co-ops and coursework that they had done in the past. By interacting with peers and actively engaging in the rehearsal, first year flew by with a blink of an eye, and I was soon elected as an E-Board member of concert band and Social Committee Chair of Kappa Kappa Psi, instrumental bands service fraternity. I gained so much critical information, valuable friends, resourceful upperclassmen, and great leadership opportunity, just by attending to the rehearsal regularly. It all started in the first semester of college in the Fall Fest.

If you can’t attend the Fall Fest or missed it, don’t worry! All student organizations will welcome you anytime throughout the year. If you no longer have an interest in a particular club, you may walk out anytime you like. There is no binding or restriction in participating in a student organization. Don’t be afraid either! Everyone had “first time.” If you are not confident in joining a huge club from the beginning, how about simply putting your email address down on a piece of paper in the Fall Fest?

By: Eda Chang