The Ins and Outs of the Involvement Fair

Welcome to Penn State! I’m sure you are overwhelmed and probably a tad bit nervous, but it won’t be long before Penn State will begin to feel like home.

I bet you’ve already heard of the many clubs you can become involved with during your time here at Penn State. There is roughly about 900 of them. I know, that number is insane. How could anyone possibly think of that many clubs, and how do you pick between that many? Luckily Penn State has an amazing involvement fair in the fall. This is where clubs come to talk with students and let them know what they do. In this post, I will be talking about the involvement fair works, and how to make the most of it.

The involvement fair is an amazing way to become involved in the clubs across campus, but it can be a bit overwhelming because so many people participate. In previous years, the involvement fair used to span multiple days in the HUB to accommodate everyone. It is now held during one day outside on the HUB lawn. When you get to the involvement fair, there are boards around the outside edge with each club along with a corresponding table number. Each row is labeled with a group of numbers so it’s easy to find the table you are looking for. Don’t be afraid to ask any student organization member for help if you can’t find what you’re looking for. They will be sitting under a blue tent (which you can see in the picture below).

As I already mentioned there are over 900 clubs to choose from at Penn State. Not all of the clubs make it to the involvement fair, but there are still many to choose from. The clubs that are attending are posted here. You can also find the date and time of the involvement fair, along with backup dates if it rains. From this list, you can pick a couple that sound interesting. I suggest that you even look them up ahead of time. That way, when you get to the involvement fair you won’t feel so overwhelmed.

Some clubs aren’t able to make it to the involvement fair, but you can still learn about them by asking your peers or any of the leadership team during/after WEPO. One of my favorite clubs, Istari Society, is an example. My friends created Istari Society last fall and we do all things Tolkien (aka Lord of the Rings). The picture below was from one of our meetings where we were playing a 4 corners game.  Unfortunately as of right now we won’t be at the involvement fair, but feel free to reach out to me if you are interested in learning about it!

There are so many options to choose from at Penn State. The involvement fair has a variety of clubs attending, so there is surely going to be something that catches your attention. Be sure to make some time to attend to the involvement fair, and have fun! We are!

By: Margo Blake

Tools in Your Toolbox

The first tool you will always have is your network of friends and class time. During class it is extremely important that you ask questions when you don’t understand something. Many times students become afraid to ask questions, and you’ll see it often especially in classes like physics or math. The professors are there to help you and they want you to learn, so don’t be afraid to ask about

things that don’t make sense or seem unclear! Another HUGE tool is office hours. Office hours are your number one resource not only because you can get one on one time with your professor, but also because it is great networking time. The more often you go, the more your professor will recognize your effort. The professor will be more likely to help you out on little exam boosts or even becoming a reference. Professors are people too, and you’ll find some of them love to chat about things other than class. Plus they could even be doing research that you might be interested in!

One of the many benefits of doing WEPO is that you will have a network of friends before your classes even begin. You will more than likely have a couple classes with the friends you already made, which makes it easy to work on homework and study in groups. Studying and working on your own first is important, but if you get stuck or if you just want to test out what you know working in a group is the way to go. Another tool that will be mentioned during WEPO are the on campus tutors. On the second floor of Boucke are the Penn State Learning tutors, who can help with classes like math and English. Just look up Penn State Learning in Google to find drop in times for the class you are interested and get the help you need! Another similar tool are the engineering specific tutors in Sackett called the Academic Excellence Center. They can help with the more challenging classes like physics and even engineering mechanics or compsci. These tutors work later in the afternoon and evening, in case you can’t drop by Boucke during the day.

           

            The last and final tool that I want you to remember that you have is your confidence. Engineering is not an easy major, but I think you already knew that. Sometimes it will be hard to remember that you can do this, but what I want you to know is that you 100% can do engineering. We have all been through the tough times before and if you are ever struggling, reach out. Reach out to your friends, your rover, and your mentor. We will always be here to help you. I hope you found this post to be helpful, good luck with your first year at Penn State!

WE ARE!!!

Margo Blake is a senior majoring in Chemical Engineering and is a mentor for WEPO'16!