Whether you are new or old at Iowa State, ClubFest is one of the many events at the beginning of every semester that allows students to get connected and involved. The university goes to extreme lengths to allow students to be as involved (or not at all involved) as they wish to be.
Time If you are wanting a quick in and out of ClubFest, I would suggest avoiding anytime between :50 of the hour through the first 10-15 minutes into the next hour. This is the time that a lot of students have some time between classes and will most likely cluster into ClubFest I also suggest straying away from lunch hour. Hundreds of students eat lunch at the Memorial Union every day, which means during the lunch hour a lot of those students check out what is at ClubFest.
Suggestions Whether you go to ClubFest in hopes to find a bunch of clubs to join or you go there just to explore (or have to for a class), keep in mind that only about 200 clubs are represented at ClubFest. Before ClubFest, I took a look at the student organization page and went through and wrote down what interested me or what I might want to join. That way when I got to ClubFest I wasn’t wandering around aimlessly, though this is fine if that is what you want. They hand out a map at the door when you walk in, so I would try and locate a few of the ones that you want to look into or talk to one of the club’s members. Another thing I highly recommend is just going in with an open mind. There are a lot of cool organizations here that you would have never of even thought about. Be willing to try something new.
My Experience I honestly wasn’t looking forward to it at all because it was a requirement for one of my classes. Before this, I wasn’t really involved in any clubs. However, I have since joined two clubs and am thinking about a third. I really want to involve myself, even if it causes more stress because of time constraints, because after college you won’t have any opportunities like this.
So moral of the story is that whether you actually go through with joining a club or not, you can always familiarize yourself with what’s out there by being open and willing to try new things. It couldn’t hurt anyone to make a few new friends and have fun doing it.
