Top 6 Reasons to Join a Club/Course Union
Clubs & Course Union Days are this week!
September 14th & 15th from
10:00am to 4:00pm in the
Student Union Building (SUB).
Okay, so you’ve probably heard about 12 students tell you already that if they could give you any advice it would be to join a club. Not to bore you with the same advice, but they’re right. Here’s why.
1. Meet people with similar interests
One of the best ways to develop meaningful relationships is to bond over similar interests with like-minded people. Sometimes being someone’s roommate or classmate is not enough to give you the friendship spark you need. By joining a club for something you like, chances are you’ll meet someone with whom you have a real connection.
2. Opportunity to try something new
Learn something new – try synchronized swimming with the UVic Synchro Club!
With over 200 clubs and over 40 course unions, you’re bound to find something you’ve never tried before. Even better, the various clubs want people join and are thrilled when someone new comes along. They’ll teach you everything you need to know and they’ll support you as you learn.
For some activities, it might even mean learning something you won’t have the opportunity to try after university. In my first year, I joined synchronized swimming without any previous experience along with a few other novice swimmers. We learned the basics about synchro and even performed a complete choreographed routine at a regional competition where we placed 2nd!
3. Save money
Because you’re a student, a lot of activities are offered to you at a lower cost than they are to anyone else outside the university. Plus, when you join a club you get to share the costs with other people, which reduces your expenses even further. For example, for a low membership fee you can go on kayak trips, cave exploring trips, and more!
4. Be supported in your studies
Joining your course union is a great way to meet people in your department. Not only is it nice to see familiar faces in class, but you also get to know people with whom you can study.
Additional benefits of having friends in class include getting lecture notes for days that you missed, and access to handy study resources such as solutions to textbook questions or old exams that no are no longer sold by the department yet have been saved over the years by a friend of a friend of your new friend.
5. Network
Engaging with clubs and course unions is a great way to network in your field of interest. You can meet professors or coaches or coordinators of various organizations through club involvement. Not only can you get to meet these types of people, but in doing so through a club/course union you demonstrate a certain level of initiative that might give you the edge it takes to get a desirable research position or a reference letter.
6. Make memories
Even if you don’t end up staying in a club for more than a semester, you could leave with great memories or a good story! Who wouldn’t want to hear about your newly acquired sword skills from the Fencing Club, or that time you helped build an award-winning rocket with the UVic Rocketry Club?
Whether it’s your first year at UVic or your fifth, it’s never too late to join a club/course union and experience something new!
Did you miss the Clubs & Course Union Days this week? Don’t worry, you can find the list of clubs here and the list of Vikes Recreation sports clubs here. There is no comprehensive list of the various course unions that is available online, so if you’re interested just ask your department for more information.
