Grace Billows poses for a photo. Haellie Opp
Haellie Opp
College students look for a community to learn and grow in. They want to get the most out of their college experience and learn as much as they can in the four years they have on campus.
Grace Billows, a freshman in elementary education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is a part of three clubs on campus. But when she joined Aspiring Educators, a pre-professional organization dedicated to those pursuing a career as an educator, she noticed a change in her experience on campus.
“Being in a club allowed me to get to know people more directly and more closely,” Billows said. “Also it’s just nice knowing you have like-minded people surrounding you, knowing that they can always be there to support you in whatever you might need.”
Students join clubs for a variety of reasons, such as developing life and leadership skills, networking and diversifying their experiences and views. Student organizations create a community of people looking to explore their passions together.
“By being in clubs here at UW-Madison, I have been able to broaden my social circle and get to know people from various backgrounds,” Billows said. “These clubs have allowed me to branch out and find people that not only share similar perspectives, but who challenge me to be a better person. I think the biggest benefit of joining a club is finding a community that you know no matter what will support you.”
Community is built on passion, communication and participation, which is what students are looking for in their extracurriculars. Clubs take up a huge chunk of Billows’ schedule and she is dedicated to donating her time to these organizations.
The issue isn’t knowing about the long list of clubs UW-Madison has on its website, it’s taking the time to read about each and every one to determine which organization fulfills the niche interests and passions of the campus community.
ClubCrush, an app developed at UW-Madison, is looking to solve this issue. By matching students with clubs, getting them connected with club leaders and mapping out club schedules with personal schedules, they’re giving students the opportunities they deserve to explore their interests and grow.
ClubCrush takes on the grunt work of matching students with clubs so they can devote their time to the organizations that best fit them. Without the stress of scrolling through an endless list of organizations on a university website, they can reap more benefits from student activities outside the classroom.
As someone who is looking to be a safe space for children, Billows is involving herself in other clubs as well – such as the Delta Delta Delta sorority and the School of Education’s Buddy Program.
She felt as though it was “kind of hard” to get involved with clubs relating to her major, especially in the School of Education.
“I definitely want to do things that are catered towards my major and what I like doing,” Billows said. “I care about the emotional well-being of people and the impact I make.”
An app like ClubCrush would make it easier for students to discover clubs and for clubs to outreach to potential new members. Billows wishes she was able to see a catered list of clubs to her and her interests, and the idea of an app that supports students’ interests and college journey was appealing.
There are so many benefits of joining clubs. University websites and sponsored organization fairs don’t make it the most accessible way for students to get involved on and off campus, but ClubCrush’s mission is to match as many students with clubs as effortlessly as possible.