Student Academic Clubs and Student Organizations: Do They Help Students with A Sense of Belonging? In what ways do Student Academic Clubs and Student Organizations in college help students fit in, to achieve a sense of belonging? There are many ways student academic clubs and student organizations help with a sense of belonging in an academic setting. On the North Idaho College campus in Coeur d 'Alene, Idaho we have English club with the mission statement through North Idaho College “The North Idaho English Club is a group of intellectual individuals who strive to provide the North Idaho College with literary insight and events”. The N.I.C has Philosophy Club their mission statement “Our mission is to provide aspiring intellectuals on and off campus with a constructive environment in which to learn and grow together”. These are just a few of the North Idaho College Academic Clubs, there are many to choose from. It depends on where the student feels a liking to or a sense of belonging, a connection. Kimberly F. Case is part of Center for Intercultural Teaching & Learning, Goshen College, Goshen, Indiana talks about “Participating in campus clubs and organizations is one way for students to become purposefully involved in their educational experience. As students participate in these groups, they can expect to experience gains in a variety of areas: cognitive skills (Gellin, 2003); self-confidence and interpersonal skills (Huang & Chang, 2004); a variety of developmental
In this article “ Students must do their part to Achieve “ Arkansas Gazette (November 1,1990), Japhet N Makia Explains how Important it is to attend Collage and look for higher education. He also believes that all students should take part in school or college activities. However, he also mentions that the important of being sociable by participates in activity clubs because it adds a flavor of fun and sometimes it help the students to be better leaders.
Participation can make someone feel more fulfilled in life and can increase their self-esteem by making them feel more capable in the act of doing (Law, 2002, p. 640). In general, participation in extracurricular activities outside of work or school increases quality of life for both children and adults. When children participate in sports or clubs, their risk of smoking, low self-esteem and having difficulty making friends decreases. Adults that volunteer or participate in recreational activities are proven by research to live longer and have higher quality of life. (Law, 2002, p. 641) Speaking from experience, as a freshman in college during my undergrad, all I did was study – I didn’t attempt to make friends or participate in any organizations. As one can image, I can’t say I was experiencing a high quality of life because I needed to be engaging in activities with
By participating in Greek life, the students’ social circles are expanded. Because sororities and fraternities are specific to gender, religions, races, and even majors, those who participate in Greek life create lifelong relationships with people they choose to associate with by
If students demonstrate these qualities they are more likely to get better grades and get reprimanded less. Students who participate in extracurricular activities or are more active in society and school are much more likely to do better in their academic experience. “During the first semester of their senior year, participants reported better attendance than their non-participating classmates--half of them had no unexcused absences from school and half had never skipped a class, compared with one-third and two-fifths of nonparticipants, respectively.” (http://nces.ed.gov/) Meaning that many students who participate in clubs do better in school. Many clubs in schools require all four of the qualities and more. Also, as students usually feel a sense of ennui in their classes, they will be more excited as the day goes by if they have
Currently, I am a member of Red Cross Club, UNICEF Club, India Club, MED Club, MUN club, and Symphony. Last year, I have also participated in the Robotics club. These clubs help me learn more about myself and my interest, my goals, and my skills. It really open up my viewpoint. By participating in all these clubs may seem very tense and demanding. In contrast, I joined these clubs because they relieve my stress. They are great ways to communicate with other students and have a lot of fun exposed to real life experiences in the fields/subjects you are interested in. Being a member of these clubs also gives opportunity to meet and network with other people with similar interests.
Joining a club blind of who else was joining challenged me to interact and develop relationships with people who would have otherwise been strangers to me. This helped improve the quality of the High School experience of others and myself as it helped form bonds that will continue post-graduation. Participating in activities with these new friends from Key Club has made me a better person because these relationships have acted as training wheel in the process of associating servitude with fun. Most importantly though, the expansion of my social life through Key Club has helped me cope with the stress of
As a freshman at UNCW, I was starting out in a new place for the very first time, away from my friends and family. So many different thoughts were running through my mind like “How do I make friends.” Maybe I could join different clubs and organizations around campus. I found myself wanting sign up for sorority recruitment, to see what Greek life was about here at UNCW.
Barbara F. Tobolowsky states this in her review of My Freshman Year, how Nathan doesn’t go deep into detail about her studies connecting to a “notion of community,” neither does she mention that she lives in a sophomore and junior residence hall. Tobolowsky says in the review, “Nathan relates how students’ lives and the institutional structure, but their very nature, undercut the existence of an institutional community. She begins her argument by recognizing that students are busy.” Most college students have jobs, are in clubs, or volunteer to prepare for their future careers, but then spend less time on their work. Nathan says this is another reason why students don’t get themselves involved in the Greek system. Being a part of an organization requires a lot of time that students can’t give up due to their focus on academics while at the same time it was supposedly said that being in a fraternity or sorority gave them the highest satisfaction with campus life. Nathan pointed out, “The same things that make us feel connected and protected are the things that make us feel obligated and trapped as
In general, attending extracurricular activities is great at expanding students’ knowledge that they cannot gain from a classroom, such as issues regarding a person’s culture and how they can handle those cultural issues. Attending these extracurricular activities helps build a community with people that are passionate about the same things as you or are going through similar situations and do not know how to approach these issues. After attending this event, I am excited to attend more extracurricular activities on campus, instead of going home after
Along with the excitement and anticipation that come with heading off to college, freshmen often find questions of belonging lurking in the background: Am I going to make friends? Are people going to respect me? Will I fit in?
I want to continue that feeling of being more socially engaged in college. In one of those clubs, the National Honor Society I was surrounded by individuals that care about the environment and helping others in the community like the homeless. I want to continue this at FIU, at orientation I found out about a really interesting program that has similar goals, which I am thinking of joining. This relates to the mantras I think relate to my transition to college, for one I am going out of my comfort zone by joining my first college club and I’ll be surrounding myself with people that would help me grow. In doing so, I feel like I would become a better person in a social sense because I`ll be able to interact with people without being shy.
There are three main organizations on campus: fraternities and sororities, music, and athletics. They all play a big role at Troy University with many students participating and getting involved with them. Fraternities and sororities gain many people because of parties and other alike functions. They get stereo typed because of the functions but not all people join for that reason. My roommate is in one of the Greek organizations, but she joined because of the sister hood. That is another big deciding factor for multiple girls because they don’t have someone, like a sister, to be close to in their hometown. Along with that, Greek Organizations allows people to have accountability partners for studying and everyday life. It makes adjusting
It allows students to feel like a part of the college, as if the belong. Once a feeling of belonging has been established, it will become harder to leave, to give up or dropout.
Many educational researchers agree that the need for belonging is one of the most important needs of all for students to function well in all types of learning environments (Connell & Well Born, 1991; Deci & Ryan, 1991; Finn, 1989; Osterman, 2000). The feeling of belonging may have a direct and powerful influence on students’ motivation (Goodenow, 1993). For example, perceived support and the sense of belonging are expected to increase students beliefs in their success and accordingly to increase their academic motivation. In fact, studies consistently reveal that when students experience a sense of belonging in educational environments, they are more motivated, more engaged in
Being a sound part of a community, you should continuously learn more and more about yourself. As a member of a club, taking part in meetings and activities let you learn