Club Crawl kicked off at NW, NE and TR Campuses last week to showcase what they have to offer for new and returning students, beckoning bustling students through the halls.
Alex Carter, a TR student and attendee of TR’s three-day club event explained that joining the campus’ Voices in Action club as a new student last year gave him a chance to come out of his shell.
“I’ve learned how to not just walk and talk, but to have real conversations and hold eye contact,” he said.
Voices in Action club president Kayla Medina said she founded the club with her friends as a way to uplift student voices and share a community experience.
“Not a lot of students are being heard from what they want and what they like to see, so this is what we do,” she said.
Carter was not the only student at the event to feel like they had found a community, however, as TR Philosophy Club member Levi Johnson said that growing up, he felt like he had questions that he felt people around him could not answer.
It wasn’t until he had joined Philosophy Club that he was able to converse and connect with other club members that he was able to explore the topics on his mind.
“Philosophy Club has kind of been a reason for me to stay at school whenever I wanted to drop,” he said.
TR Gamer Club member Carmen Nelson explained that the purpose of Gamer Club was to give students with interests in gaming somewhere to feel welcomed.
“We just want to engage in community,” Nelson said. “Our gamers can kind of feel comfortable and at home, and we don’t discriminate any game.”
At NE Campus, Phylicia McClure attended the club event as a student looking to browse the club options. She said that she enjoyed the event and appreciated how organized it was.
“I think it’s a nice way to find community, everybody seems open, everybody seems really prepared with what they have to say. It’s nice,” she said.
After making her rounds, she said she was interested in joining the Knitting and Crocheting Club, as she has always wanted to gain the skill to do so.
“I’ve been really into exploring my hobbies and getting into more recreational stuff because in high school I wasn’t really that kind of person to be in a bunch of clubs,” she said.
NE Neurodivergent Club was able to catch eyes with displayed fidget toys and stickers, said club member Azriel Steven, who explained that they are ready to increase numbers in membership.
“We’ve been doing a lot of advertising and a lot of word of mouth,” they said. “Those neurodivergent people that are more extroverted tell their friends to come hang out with us and our circle just grows that way.”
Yazid Marhnez, a member of NW Campus Association of Latin American Students attended the campus club event on Sept. 9 to spread information about the community work they are involved in.
Marhnez said that belonging to ALAS made her feel that she was making an impact in helping people and encouraged her to express pride in her culture.
“I’ve always been really proud of my culture, who I am, my roots,” she said. “I feel like having a club for students that can come and express who they are on campus is really helpful.”
Along with ALAS, the Christian Student Ministry Club attended to encourage more engagement and membership. Showcased by Valentina Meza, she explained that joining helped her find a foundation in her faith.
“There have been days that I’ve been super stressed or sometimes even sad during the school year or the school day, and talking about the word of God, gaining that encouragement, has helped me a lot,” she said.
