On Tuesday, September 10th, I entered the doors of the Alpheus Smith Laboratory building. I walked through the hallways, searching for lecture hall 1005, the meeting place for the Society of Physics Students (SPS) student organization. As I entered the room, I saw a line of people waiting to get their fair portion of pizza. After getting in line and grabbing some food, I promptly sat down in the back and waited for the presentation to start. As the speaker walked to the front, I got a little more excited to learn about Quantum Key Distribution, the topic of the seminar. I knew nothing about Quantum Key Distribution before the seminar begun, and no, I don’t remember a lot of the topic because of how in depth and complicated it is, but I had fun and enjoyed experiencing the club environment and did learn a little bit about the topic at hand. Overall, my first college student organization experience was a success.
Like I mentioned in my About Me page, I had been involved in quite a few clubs and student organizations while in high school. Even though this is true, I was still apprehensive about joining a club during my first year of college. I believed this up until I finally joined the Society of Physics Students and talked to some other friends about the clubs that they are in. I finally realized how important it is to get involved with other students.
Joining a club or organization isn’t just about meeting new people, but about finding a sense of belonging. I have always had trouble finding a place to be myself and feel like I belong and, honestly, being in a student organization truly helps. It helps makes going to such a large campus as The Ohio State University feel small. It allows for the students who would normally keep to themselves most of the time to go out with a small group of people with the same interests as them. It would allow them to meet new people and become a more open and outgoing person.
There are over 1,300 student organizations at The Ohio State University. This provides a very large range of different possibilities for students to get involved with others. Not only does it help give students a sense of belonging, it can create lifelong friendships and provide a lot of personal growth. Also, research suggests that students that are involved in student organizations are more likely to perform better academically than their peers that are not involved in any student organizations. Another great thing is that if The Ohio State University does not already have the specific student organization that you are looking for, then you can start your own student organization.
In conclusion, joining a student organization is truly a fantastic idea, especially in one’s first year in college. It allows one to found new friendships and opens many opportunities for one outside of the classroom. Whether it be an academic club, some sort of inter mural sport, or an organization that is just for fun, it is well worth the time and effort to find and join one.