University is about more than just studying, so it’s up to you to shape your student life. You’ll obviously spend a lot of time on campus and with your course mates; but is that it?
Societies are the driving force of many of the best – and most fun – activities that happen on campus. By joining a society, you’ll not only get the chance to meet like-minded people, but you’ll also enhance your employability because of the skills, knowledge and other qualities and knowledge that joining in will help you acquire.
There are three main categories of student society:
- Sports societies, which often involve inter-university competitions.
- Subject based societies, which enable you to extend your academic knowledge more informally.
- Extra-curricular societies which don’t fit either category – like cheerleading or maybe setting up a business or working in the local community on one of the Enactus student programmes.
There are many reasons why you should join a society – to make friends, bond with others as a team or develop an interest in something you’re passionate about. Here are my top three reasons why joining a society will benefit you in the future:
Learning something new
Why not throw yourself into something you’ve never done before? That’s what university is for! If you can’t knit, but want to, join the Knitting Society and you’ll be knitting up a storm in no time. Or if you fancy something less hands-on, you could join the Japanese Society and learn the ways of Japanese culture.
Develop as an individual
Exposing yourself to many different people (and cultures and religions depending on the society you join) will help your personal development and you’re likely to become more patient with people and more understanding of what makes them tick.
It looks great on your CV
Many employers like people who have been involved with extracurricular activities. It shows that you have enthusiasm and initiative, and can manage your time effectively. Societies also help you develop new skills, organising events and creating projects that will give your CV a boost.
Not to mention that playing an active part in a society offers a welcome break from all that coursework & studying!
Don’t take my word for it, here’s Sam Senior, who’s studying Business Management at UWE, Bristol.
“Joining a society is a great way to meet new people. The friends you make and the societies themselves have also given me self-confidence and developed many of the skills that I use at Enterprise – whether it’s communication and group working skills as part of the Hub Radio at UWE, or Motorsports, or even from being part of the creation and running of the university Quidditch team.
After starting from scratch as a Vice-President with my best friend (it was his idea) we’ve gone on to become one of 30 teams (and counting!) in the UK. Regular tournaments and events with the team and others allow you to meet and mix with students from across the country and overseas. There are tournaments popping up all over the place and helping to run the team has given me skills and experience in organising events, handling conflict management and communicating effectively with other committee members.
The societies also give you the opportunity to try something new and do pretty much anything you can think of. In fact, if you can imagine it, there’s probably a society for it!”
If you’re the kind of person who enjoys a new challenge (whether it’s knitting, Japanese culture or Quidditch) why not apply for a position here at Enterprise? We’d love to hear from you.
