Get involved on campus

*This article was first submitted as an editorial in an Advanced Reporting course on May 4, 2021*

With over 240 student organizations to choose from at Bradley University, it shouldn’t be hard to find one that suits you and your interests.

Getting involved on campus is highly encouraged as it comes with several benefits, both personally and professionally.

Joining clubs and organizations on a college campus provide a space for leadership opportunities, meeting new people, making friends — which can later become professional connections — reducing stress, improving time management and discovering new interests or hobbies, according to collegedata.com.

Emma Hoyhtya, the 2020-21 student body president and junior business management major, said campus organizations have helped add to her college experience.

She said one of the biggest benefits she has received from her involvement in Student Senate has been practicing what she is learning in her management classes. These topics include leading teams, motivating people and giving reviews.

After Googling “how to become student body president,” Hoyhtya joined Student Senate her freshman year.

“Because it’s been a struggling organization for quite a few years now, I needed to put myself to the test and put myself in positions where I needed to enact those things that I was working on in my classes,” Hoyhtya said. “It ended up really working out for me.”

Another place students can practice what they’re learning in the classroom is through experiential learning opportunities like on-campus internships.

According to a 2019 Strada-Gallup survey, the more experiential learning experiences students participated in, the more likely they were to feel prepared to succeed in the job market. Of the people surveyed, 76% of those that had six experiential learning experiences said they were confident of their future success in the job market, compared to 12% of those that did not have any experiential learning opportunities.

Not only has Hoyhtya held several positions within Student Senate, but she is also involved in Bradley Chorale. This musical organization was where she found a group of people she enjoyed being around and ended up adding a music minor. She also liked the culture that was full of people from different majors.

“At Bradley, there’s so many options of organizations to get involved in, and it would be naïve to say that there aren’t different types of people in each different major,” Hoyhtya said. “If you have an interest in music or an interest in political science, you should definitely go seek out those groups and participate with the people that you might be interested in being around but aren’t around in your major.”

Hoyhtya also suggests for underclassmen to get involved in something that exercises a different part of the brain than the classes within their major.

“It’s so intimidating sometimes, but it’s so important to remember that everybody is intimidated,” Hoyhtya said. “When two people are nervous together, they connect very quickly and become fast friends.”

Throughout my time at Bradley, I have been involved with The Scout. I have been able to improve the skills taught in the journalism classes by putting them to practice every week. It is through this organization that I met some of my best friends, and my favorite college memories occurred in The Scout’s office.

Getting involved enriches one’s college experience because an on-campus organization is a low stakes opportunity to engage with what you want to do post-college. It may also open doors to new interests and real-world connections.

Although courses are important in a college education, it is just as essential to continue learning and growing outside the classroom. Student organizations provide such a place. These are safe spaces to practice your passion while also getting to know others that are doing the same.