Student Clubs Share Their Future Events and More at Student Involvement Fair

For students, joining a campus club can mean much more than adding another activity to an already busy schedule. Clubs can provide professional experience, volunteer opportunities, creative outlets and a sense of belonging. 

Last week WSUV held its Student Involvement Fair, where student-led organizations across campus represented their organizations while helping students connect what they learn in class with the people, careers and causes that matter to them.

Anthropology Club

Anthropology Club President Ryan Ashley said his organization works to make anthropology–an academic discipline known for specialized terminology and long journal articles–feel approachable.

“We try to make it more approachable, digestible and fun to learn about,” Ashley said.

The club will be hosting its Flavors Without Borders event for Sept. 14 at the Firstenburg Student Commons South Patio, offering snacks, candy and seltzer flavors from around the world. During Halloween week, students will be invited to solve a murder-mystery escape room using biological and forensic anthropology methods. A trivia night with the History Club is also planned.

Veterans Club

The Veterans Club is centered on community building. Its president, Christian Stauffer, said the organization helps veterans transition out of the military, connect with other communities and challenge stereotypes about who veterans are. The club hosts monthly hikes that are open to everyone. Its next hike is being planned for late September and is expected to cover more than eight kilometers. Members are also considering a mental-health collaboration, a Halloween event and karaoke.

“We also want to destigmatize ideas about what a veteran is, bring positive light to veterans, and help make the campus a more welcoming environment for all students, including veterans,” Stauffer said.

Survivors United

Survivors United combines community support with advocacy. President Maven Blackwood described the organization as a resource and advocacy group for survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence. The club will host its Repair, Renew, Reclaim event for Wednesday, Oct. 7, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Students will repair clothing together while learning about campus and community resources.

Blackwood said the event will celebrate community care. Survivors United welcomes people who are survivors as well as those who want to be allies. Students can reach the organization through the Student Involvement page or at van.survivorsunited@wsu.edu.

Pre-Dental Club

Pre-Dental Club President Jenna Fahmy, a senior biology major on the pre-dental track, said the organization plans to advertise volunteer opportunities through GivePulse and connect students with local dentists for possible office experience and job shadowing.

The club also hopes to invite dentists to discuss their day-to-day work and bring dental-school representatives to campus. Mock interviews can help students prepare for the application process, while hands-on activities—including suture clinics, dexterity events and alginate impressions—will give members an opportunity to practice useful skills.

Pre-Pharmacy Club

The Pre-Pharmacy Club offers another bridge between coursework and a health-care career. Vice President Maddison Deming, a senior majoring in biology and minoring in molecular biology, said the club helps students explore pharmaceutical sciences, learn about drug safety and understand the pathway into pharmacy.

Planned activities include making bath bombs and meeting representatives from the WSU College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences as well as Oregon State University’s College of Pharmacy. Deming emphasized that the club’s information is valuable beyond students who already know they want to become pharmacists.

“Even if students are not specifically interested in pharmacy, learning more about it is knowledge that anyone, from any walk of life or educational background, could benefit from,” she said.

ArtX

Other clubs give students a needed break from academic pressure. ArtX Club President Juan Romero, a fourth-year psychology major and fine arts minor, said the organization creates space for students whose majors may not leave much time for art.

“We provide events where students can have fun and create things without worrying about college,” Romero said.

ArtX is developing several collaborations, including cave painting with the Anthropology Club, nature drawing with the Environmental Science Club and painting a shed with the Garden Club. The organization also plans to bring back screen printing and charm making after both activities were popular last year.

Muslim Student Association

For students seeking connection through shared identity and experience, campus clubs can create spaces of understanding. The Muslim Student Association builds community among Muslim students while welcoming non-Muslims who want to learn about Islam. President Shahd Shilbayeh said the group plans to host an introductory event covering the religion’s basics.

“It will be a safe and comfortable space for everyone,” Shilbayeh said.

Environmental Science Club

The Environmental Science Club uses WSUV’s trails and natural spaces as both a classroom and a place for connection. Club President Bailey Green, who also serves as Director of Environmental Sustainability and Advocacy in ASWSUV, said the club wants students to enjoy the outdoors while learning to care for it.

Weekly nature walks are central to the organization’s work. Planned partnerships include nature-journaling and zine-making workshops with ArtX, native planting and seed workshops with the Garden Club, and off-campus field trips with the Recreation Office. Members also expect to participate in invasive-species removal and other fieldwork that improves campus grounds.

“Exploring the outdoors is more fun when you know more about it,” Green said. “We provide education to WSU students to help them become stewards of nature.”

What Students Said About the Clubs

For biology student Katelyn Sperling, exploring clubs is part of preparing for future work with patients. She expressed interest in the Psychology Club because she wants volunteer experience and believes psychology will help her better understand the people she may one day serve.

“I want to work with patients, and that will require understanding them and having empathy as well,” Sperling said.

She also signed up for the Neuroscience Club, Pre-Health Club and Science Communication Club. Her interest in neuroscience began before college, when the club visited during her senior year of high school for a hands-on event. She practiced CPR, tested blood pressure, looked through microscopes and even held a human brain.

“I thought that was really cool, so I wanted to join the club and do more things that revolve around science,” she said.

Biology student Ceana Kopsho is similarly approaching club involvement as an investment in her education and career. She is interested in the Psychology Club because she plans to attend physician assistant school and may complete rotations in psychiatric or mental-health settings. Kopsho also joined the Neuroscience Club and Pre-Health Club to learn more about the brain, find volunteer opportunities and connect with people working in medicine.

“I think it will be very beneficial for me in the future,” Kopsho said of the Psychology Club.

Whether students want to create art, explore nature, learn about a culture, find support from people with shared experiences, or prepare for graduate school, they are turning to student organizations on campus for those experiences. 

The interests of the students and the prevalence of collaborative events between clubs also show that organizations do not operate in isolation. From nature drawing and garden projects to trivia nights and mental-health programming, collaborations allow clubs—and the students who join them—to reach beyond a single interest.