Many of us are served with a little reminder of the Student Activities Fair each time we receive an email or CampusGroups notification about a club meeting or event for an organization we joined in the spur of a moment. Looking back, how many clubs did you sign up for? And how many are you actively engaged in? That number is probably slim to none.
At some point, many of us have fallen victim to the external pressures of joining a couple clubs to pad a resume for some application deadline. While this is a valid reason to do so, when did putting actual effort into those clubs become an unusual expectation? We all get it, extracurricular activities may fall short on the priority list. As students, we can all relate to having heavy homework loads, and life happens. However, it should not be a recurring excuse that prevents you from pulling your weight in some form. Far too many students immerse themselves in the application processes of club positions or societies, only to kick up their feet as meetings begin and responsibilities pile up. Don’t be that person. It is true that responsibilities as a club member are less than that of those in a leadership position, but why dedicate yourself to applying for a position only to not take responsibility? To some extent, there should be some heart to it. Aimlessly interviewing for positions that read as prestigious on college applications are nothing without the backing of genuine experiences and reflection on your work.
Of course, grades are important and get our feet in the door for opportunities such as research, educational programs, graduate and pre-professional schools, but that capability only gets us so far. You still have to push the door open, you know.
In truth, extracurriculars teach us valuable lessons and skills that a lecture hall and multiple choice exam cannot. Club participation is a holistic engagement that involves communication, creativity and collaboration. You can memorize the amino acids, but there is no method nor strategy to extracurriculars. They are not meant to be structured as academic environments but exist as a way to discover people and share perspectives with one another that cannot be captured anywhere else on campus.
Most interviewers want to hear about the unique perspective that you can bring to the table. There is no better way to show this than through your dedication and passion to a club or two, taking on projects and initiative in your immediate community. It is not a contest of how many clubs you’re in, but rather what you have done or created with your time.
It is okay to not know where to start, and do not panic. To begin, it is best to start small. Take on a couple of projects or clubs that align with your interests or intrigue you, and your commitment can blossom into many things. You don’t have to have it all figured out from the beginning, as cultivating a meaningful college experience takes time, trial and error and effort.
Finding the right club may be daunting, though, as Case Western Reserve University is home to hundreds of clubs. A few good places to start might be CampusGroups, email newsletters and social media posts that provide meeting details. As a digitalized society, we’ve adapted to using social media outlets like Instagram as major modes of communication—so it doesn’t hurt to use it.
It also doesn’t hurt to go to a meeting or two before deciding if an organization is right for you. In fact, attending a meeting is less harmful than diving headfirst into a leadership position of a club you have no interest in. There are no consequences to exploring, but there are consequences to not fulfilling your role’s duties. You cheat yourself and others out of valuable experience and opportunity when you ignore your responsibilities in a club. It is illogical to passively commit to an experience or organization as it gives little to look back to in return.
In the long-term, subscribing to apathy when it comes to club engagement and accountability has a negative impact on yourself and those around you, so it’s best to cast a smaller net and work your way up from there.