My university career started off the heels of the pandemic, and so at first, finding a community at York was difficult. I was starting fresh with all new people in an unfamiliar environment, and it was intimidating. Luckily enough, there are plenty of ways to get more involved on campus and build your community. One of those ways is by joining clubs.
Welcome to the first part of my Evolving Involvement at York series! Follow along as I recount my experience at York thus far and how I found a fulfilling community by getting involved with life on campus.
Joining student organizations
In my first year, I joined the Film Student Association (FSA) as the Media Arts Representative as well as the Creative Arts Student Association (CASA) as a general member. This gave me my first real taste of the club culture at York. Particularly with the FSA, I was able to sit in on Faculty meetings with all the professors in the Cinema and Media Arts department to give them feedback on my program. This allowed me to build relationships with my professors as well as push myself to reach out to other people in my major, which was great for building connections.
Student clubs at York
Later on, I joined the Media Music Club – a band at York that plays music from pop culture media, such as video games, anime, movies and more! As someone who is admittedly a nerd and had played the flute all throughout high school, finding this club was perfect for me. This was also my first introduction to a club that wasn’t a part of a pre-established student organization, which made things feel a little more laid back and casual. I also recently joined the Classical Music Society with the hopes of expanding my classical music practice, and it has been fun so far! Music clubs are a great way to flex your creative muscles at York – or enjoy a rousing performance!
Making clubs at York
The most exciting part of joining clubs at York was starting one myself! Technically it wasn’t the first time I started a club (I had a failed attempt at starting an Open Mic Club in my first year), but it was the first and only successful club I was a founding member of. This club, Beyond Fine Arts, has been the crowning achievement of my club life on campus, as it has allowed me to get involved with other clubs, meet new people, host interesting and exciting events and work on projects outside of schoolwork that interest me. It felt good to make a space to host the kind of events I wanted to see on campus, rather than hoping someone else would have them.
Pro tip: Want to learn more about starting or joining clubs on campus? Check out the Student Community & Leadership Development website!
Joining a club is one of the best ways to get involved on campus, but maybe you’re looking for something a little different, something that doesn’t require that much commitment. Well in that case, maybe campus events would be better for you!
Stay tuned for our next post in this series about campus events <3