Getting Involved on Campus

“It’s fun to have fun, but you’ve got to know how” –The Cat in the Hat

So far in my college experience, the best thing I’ve done is get involved with clubs and organizations. While managing meetings and events for these clubs/orgs has been difficult, it’s something that has helped me make friends, gain better study habits, and stay in touch with the part of me that isn’t all about science and math. That’s why, even though managing multiple commitments isn’t easy, I’m not telling yo

u to not be involved; I’m telling you to put yourself out there and join clubs, but to do it in a smart way. 

Be able to say NO.

When you enter the involvement fair this semester, be prepared to be bombarded with groups telling you all about their clubs and why you should join. If you’re like me, you don’t like to disappoint people. The first and biggest mistake I made was telling every club that “maybe” I would join, and giving them my email. Before you write down your contact info, WAIT!! No matter how much those recruiters promise you they aren’t going to spam your email, they will. If you’re unsure of whether or not you want to be involved, write down a secondary email address to get some more information. If you definitely want to join, it’s best to give your PSU email address. That way you will always see important emails in a timely manner. Here’s the part I had a hard time with: if you DON’T want to join AT ALL… then don’t! Don’t give them your PSU or any email address if you don’t want to. It’s okay to not be interested in a club.

Choose wisely what leadership positions you want to take.

There is no bigger commitment than being the President of this club or the Secretary for that club. Coming out of high school, I couldn’t count on both hands how many leadership positions I had, but those obligations take on a whole new meaning in college. It’s not easy to attend a 2-day event when you have an Orgo exam the day after. Unfortunately, I’ve been there. Last year I was a THON dancer. It was undoubtedly the best experience I’ve ever had in my entire life! …but I’ll never forget all the times I had my physics book with me, so I could study for 10 minutes if I arrived at meetings early, or the times I simply couldn’t attend meetings because I had to study for a calc exam. It’s definitely possible to take on some big commitments like that, but if you find that you’re having difficulty managing two leadership positions, don’t take on a third.

Be involved in engineering/science clubs AND other clubs that you enjoy.

When it comes to being involved in engineering clubs, you’re already getting a great start! WEPO is just the beginning to a program that you can be involved in for the rest of your college career! It will build your confidence, provide you with great networking opportunities, help you make friends in your field, and teach you important lessons to boost your success during college and after. Many of these useful qualities are characteristic of other major-related clubs too, so it’s important to take advantage of those resources and build your network. It’s also important, however to let your other interests thrive. There are clubs and organizations for just about everything, so if your hobby is drinking tea, belly dancing, or flying planes, you can meet up with people who have that same hobby, and then drink tea, belly dance, or fly planes with them…seriously, those are actual clubs at Penn State!

While getting good grades is important, college is about learning, both inside the classroom and out. You’re going to learn what you like and what you don’t like. You’ll figure out what things help to ease the stress of classes, and you’ll learn how to fit those de-stressors into your schedule. Overall, in college, you’re going to learn who you are, so put yourself out there, join clubs, and make friends. It might be difficult, but once you get the hang of it, you’ll be better at time management, you’ll have friends to study with and friends to belly dance with, and you’ll start to learn all of the things that I mentioned without even realizing you’re learning.

I really hope you join some great clubs/orgs this year (I suggest THON!) , and I can’t wait to meet you NEXT MONTH!!!  WEPO ’13 can’t come fast enough!!!

Danielle Roethlein is a junior in Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering and a Mentor for WEPO'13.  To read more about Danielle visit her WEPO Profile: http://raindancer45.wix.com/ladyengineers#!danielle-roethlein/c3b1