Starting Your Own Club in College, How To Do It?

Most people will recommend that you join a club or an organization while you study in college. The benefits are apparent such as having a wide network and enjoying life. However, what if there is no club suited for your interests? 

A brilliant idea is to form your own group or club. Now, this is not as easy as ABC, and the process might be different from one college to another. Nevertheless, it’s very fulfilling to see the group grow. And if you are up for the challenge, read the rest of this article and start your own club. 

Do Your Research

It will be a waste of time to start a group and undergo the application process if no one else is willing to join. Think about the things that you are passionate about, which others might be interested too.  

What you can do is to create a poll online. Going around the campus and asking students can help as well. From there, you can gauge if it is worth it to form a club. Remember, you will dedicate time and effort to your group. 

You also have to identify the purpose, mission, and vision of the organization. That’s on top of the possible activities you have in mind. Check out existing similar clubs from other universities and take a look at organizations within your school. Most importantly, see if there will be startup costs. 

Start Recruiting 

Once you already have a concrete plan regarding your club’s direction, you can now be more confident to recruit others. This can be done in multiple ways, either online or offline. Take advantage of social media and create pages where you can easily post teasers and updates. If there are school events, then maybe you can start approaching people and encourage them to join. This is hard work as you cannot expect students to find you right away. But if you are serious about building your club, you would be willing to do this. 

Conduct the Initial Meeting

When you already have a number of members willing to help the club grow, it’s time to have your first meeting. This is where you can get suggestions on how to make the organization even more valuable. Aside from that, voting can take place so you can already have your executive board. This is beneficial for the next step. 

Set an Appointment with Your School Engagement Office 

While it is ok not to make your club official, there are a lot of opportunities that only official ones can enjoy. For example, you can get funding. Plus, you might be given access to some of your school’s facilities. And that is why we encourage you to have your club recognized by your college or university. 

As you set an appointment with the school engagement office, take note of the requirements. More often than not, you will be required to have a constitution or bylaws. Don’t get intimidated as there are readily available templates where you can pattern yours. Again, research is the key. 

Also, you might be required to pass the names of your executive board and show that you have the required number of members.  This is the importance of recruiting as early as possible. 

Conduct Regular Meetings and Events 

Now that you are an official club of your university, you have more liberty to conduct events and other activities. 

Consistency plays a huge role here. You have to make sure that your club holds regular meetings to provide updates. Otherwise, your team member will lose momentum. Be a leader and show them that the club is worth staying. 

When you form and lead a club, it can be exhausting – most especially if you are an active organization and you have several events on the pipeline. But it teaches you a lot of lessons that you can use once you step out of the university. You will have a strong sense of leadership, time management, and other interpersonal skills. In addition, you might sometimes experience stress and problems which you need to resolve. Again, it builds a stronger character.   

These are not taught by professors and are already outside of your classroom. It could be your advantage when you apply for work and is already an asset to your CV.