When I first walked out of my Argument and Persuasion class at 12:20 on September 19, I had no idea what was going on because there were so many people everywhere, and then it hit me that the Get Involved Fair was today and I was standing right in the middle of it. There were over 100 clubs with tables set up throughout the hallways, and let me just say it was one of my most overwhelming experiences here. I never imagined that enough people would be interested in these ideas to even form a club. But the depressing part was I wasn’t seeing anything I would be interested in joining, and I began to feel very discouraged. I saw other people going to every table they saw and signing up for everything, but I didn’t want to waste my time with things that didn’t interest me. I had some possibilities in my mind about clubs I had heard of and wanted to join, but I didn’t see any of them.
Just then I saw a dog running around on a blanket and my love for animals persuaded me to go see what the table was. It was a volunteer organization at a local animal shelter. This was right up my alley, and the more the women at the table talked about the responsibilities I would have and the impact I would have on these animals, the more interested I became. I signed my name on the sheet and was a little more positive now that I found something that I liked.
As I got further into the different stands, I finally came across one of the clubs I was looking for: the photography club. There were a few people talking to the students in charge of the stand, so I waited until they were done and then walked up and filled out the iPad with my school login and pushed the “join” button. And just like that I had officially joined my first club.
Honestly, I would have been happy joining only one club, but as I was walking away from the table I saw the student ambassador table. This caught my attention because I remember wanting to become one when I went on my campus tours during my senior year of high school. I went over and the two students were so inviting and energetic. They told me the whole process you have to go through in order to become an ambassador, and I am willing to do it all. I wrote my name on the paper and am going to the interest meeting.
At this point, I thought I had seen everything and was making my way out of the building when I saw the Criminal Justice Society board. Being a criminal justice major, I wanted to see what their club was about and see if I would be interested. After talking to the students, I decided it would help me determine what I want to do with my future at Stockton and beyond. I signed up and got a meeting time for that as well. After all was said and done, I signed up to join three different clubs and one volunteer activity and can’t wait for the meetings to begin.