From darts to Disney, student orgs offer lots of options

Although classes and midterm exams may seem like the only thing on your mind, it’s important to be involved while on campus. Student organizations are a great way to meet new people, gain leadership skills and be involved throughout your collegiate career.

With 936 different student organizations here at UW–Madison to choose from, you’re bound to find one that fits your interests. If not, why not create your own?

Top 5 reasons to join a student organization:

Meet new people: “Student organizations provide endless opportunities for UW–Madison students to get involved in extracurricular activities. Getting involved in an activity students are passionate about is a great way to make lasting friendships on a big campus,” says Wisconsin Fishing Team President Jake Anderson. You’ll have the opportunity to attend various events and meetings and the people you will meet in your student organizations may become your best friends.

Expand your resume: Having student organization involvement on your resume is very important to employers. They like to see how you have made an impact on campus and that you have done more than just attended class and studied for your exams. The leadership involvement is also a great thing to include on your resume.

Gain leadership skills: “Being involved in student organizations provides you leadership experience that can make your resume more enticing to employers and translate well into a future career,” says Collegiate Farm Bureau President Connor Willems. As you get more involved in your club, you may consider becoming a part of the officer team or joining a committee to plan an event. Leadership skills will be invaluable in your life after college.

Use the skills you’re learning in class: You’re likely to join organizations that are related to your interests or the classes you are in. This will be a perfect opportunity for you to have hands-on learning experiences, and to take what you learned in the classroom and apply it to real situations.

Have fun: Most importantly, students join organizations to have fun! This is a chance for you to be a part of something bigger, attend more events, help out in the community — all while doing it with people who are fun to be around.

Which groups should I join?

Don’t know what organizations to join? Here are a few that look interesting — check them out or find out what your friends and people in your classes are joining.

Students Today Leaders Forever – Focused on service and giving back to the community, this club is open for anyone to join. The group’s biggest event of the year is a spring break trip that is full of service activities.

Collegiate Farm Bureau – Agriculture students interested in promoting modern agriculture to their peers should consider joining. Agriculture Day on Campus is hosted by this student organization. If you love food, animals and agriculture, this is the club for you!

Badger Cru – Focused on helping students with their spiritual journey. Small Bible studies that allow the members to learn about God’s word take place throughout campus. The community gives members an opportunity to grow together.

Wisconsin Fishing Team – This student organization promotes a passion for fishing. The group fishes along the shore or in boats on the Madison chain of lakes. They also compete in the collegiate bass tournament, hold meetings, tournaments, fishing outings, socials, guest speakers and a winter retreat.

Advertising Club – Learn from advertising professionals about their experiences and campaigns at the biweekly meetings. This organization also works on building members’ portfolios and goes on field trips to various advertising agencies to learn from account managers, art and creative directors and media buyers.

Madtown Darts Club – If you like playing darts, this is the club for you. The organization focuses on improving members’ skills and knowledge of the game of darts. This club is great for meeting new people and making friends with the same interest as you.

Disney Club – The goal of this club is to bring together students who love anything and everything Disney-related. The club fosters new friendships and provides a community atmosphere for everyone involved. It holds weekly meetings, biweekly movie nights and some game nights, too.

Wisconsin International Students Association – With the primary focus of promoting and improving the awareness of global culture to the campus and Madison community, this organization is open for anyone to join. It has events that feature different presenters and ethnic foods, as well as field trips around Wisconsin.

For the full listing of student organizations with contact information, check out Wisconsin Involvement Network (WIN).