College Advice || Extracurricular Activities

Happy Friday, everyone! Welcome back to The SK Way! In today’s edition of our College Advice series, Taryn and I will be sharing our best tips surrounding clubs, organizations, and other extracurricular activities on campus! Make sure to check out her blog for additional information! Although these things may look a bit different this semester, they are still important and can open doors for new friends and opportunities!

Throughout high school, I played field hockey and was a member of multiple clubs and organizations. When it came time to look at colleges, I knew I wanted to be involved on my campus in some way.

Fast forward to my junior year and I was acting as a Tour Guide and Tour Guide Mentor, Public Relations chair for my school’s Catholic Campus Ministry, a member of the alumni relations committee, a peer tutor, and a research assistant in one of my professor’s Neuroscience labs. (Yikes!) I absolutely loved all of these positions, however it was very overwhelming at times while trying to juggle classes and homework! Trying to “do it all” was just simply not sustainable. With so many options, it is very tempting to sign up for everything, but today, I will share some of my top tips for getting involved on campus while still maintaining balance within your routine!

1. Attend an Activities Fair or Research Online: Many schools will hold student activity fairs in the beginning of each semester. This is a great opportunity to look at all of the organizations on your campus and gives you the chance to speak with current members of the club to see if it is something that interests you! If your school offers a list of clubs and organizations online, I would scope that out ahead of time so you can get an idea of what is offered. Also, don’t feel pressured to sign up right away! You can always attend a meeting to see if you like it before joining!

2. Start Small: I spoke with a former student once who gave me a piece of advice – “it is better to find 1-2 things that you are very passionate about rather than to join 4-5 clubs that you passively attend”. This really stuck with me and I think it is a great point! Sometimes you have to try a bunch of things to see what you like and take a step back when you find what you want to focus your time and energy towards. There is nothing wrong with dialing back to reconsider or disconnecting from an organization if your schedule does not allow for it! I am not involved with every single thing I listed anymore, but I stuck with the ones that I really loved. If you find a club or two that you can really dive deep into, it is so much more fulfilling! On the other hand, If you decide that you can take on more and want to add some activities to your list, that’s totally ok as well! Starting small allows you to find your interests as well as your limits for how much you can take on in a semester.

3. Don’t Be Afraid to Try Something New: College is the best time to explore different interests and try new things! I have met some of my closest friends through the activities and executive boards I have been a part of. Whether it’s an intramural sports team, zumba classes at the gym, or a community service organization, you never know who you could meet or the opportunities that could come from it! I joined an alumni relations committee my freshman year not really knowing what to expect, and some of my best memories have come from attending reunion dinners with the class of 1962! It was so fun to learn about what my school was like when they were students and share stories about what has changed! That was an opportunity that I never would have had if I did not take a chance and apply!

I hope you enjoyed and found some of these tips to be helpful! Be sure to check out Taryn’s post for additional strategies and advice! We will see you back here next Friday for our final post in the series about internships & networking! Thank you so much for reading and have a great weekend 🙂