Joining a club or organization while attending college can help students build leadership skills and make new friends. With more than 60 clubs at Salt Lake Community College, the challenge might be in picking just one.
If you find artifacts, dinosaurs or ancient worlds interesting, the Anthropology Club may be the right fit. Holly Hoopes, president of the Anthropology Club, encourages students to explore clubs that match their interests.
“Follow us, and if there’s activities and events that interest you, come and get involved with those,” Hoopes says. “We really strive to enhance anthropology education and also help you put things on your resume.”
Hoopes explains some of the club benefits, which include helping students find internships and participate in study abroad, service projects and undergraduate research.
“It’s just a whole collection [of] prospects in [different] areas, in addition to their education,” she says.
Hoopes encourages students to attend the club’s book drive event, featuring guest speaker Arik Nyok from the small village of Pageleng in South Sudan. The event will be held April 3 from 1-2:30 p.m. at Taylorsville Redwood Campus in Technology Building room 104.
Admission cost to the lecture is a book donation and participants may bring more than one book. The books will be shipped to South Sudan with the goal to help increase literacy and education for the Sudanese people.
The Anthropology Club meets from 2-4 p.m. on the fourth Wednesday of every month at Taylorsville Redwood Campus in Student Cultural Center room 236A, usually only during the spring and fall semesters. All students are welcome to join these meetings, including non-members.
Hoopes is also looking for volunteers to help with the event, whether they are club members are not. Email Hoopes for more information.
Not only do clubs allow students to explore an interest and attend events, but they offer social opportunities critical to a commuter college like SLCC.
“It’s a good opportunity to meet and connect with other young people like myself with similar interests,” says Nellie Diaz, a SLCC sociology student searching for her first club to join. “Networking and even dating can be other benefits of joining a club.”
Clubs are constantly changing, and students have the option of creating or reactivating one if they are struggling to find a club that matches their interests. Requirements can be found on the clubs and organizations page of the SLCC website.
