Club Day 2018: Students’ Passions Shine
Andrew Ferralli, staff writer
Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2018: Popcorn, candy, and knick-knacks everywhere you look with people all interacting happily. No, this is not the boardwalk or Busch Gardens, but PVCC’s Club Day.
PVCC’s Club Day 2018 was a crazy day for both students and faculty; over 100 people filled the club tables at a single moment. From 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., students had the opportunity to walk around the Bolick Student Center to explore the wide assortment of clubs offered.
This semester, Club Day had more than 20 options to explore and sign up for. Most tables offered a sheet to sign if a student was interested in a club, with no obligation to join. By 1 p.m., many of the clubs had their sheets filling up fast.
Among the crowds were many returning clubs, most of which had students happy to represent and inform anyone interested. A pleasant surprise were the new club tables spread among the waves of students. These included both social and goal-based clubs. To name a few are the Vegan Club, Cyber Security Club, and M2:Missions for Our Military.
Most of the clubs can be found listed in our last issue of The Forum, digitally at Piedmontforum.com, or at pvcc.edu/student-life/clubs.
Although many clubs are student run, a faculty or staff representative is required to get a club started. Shawn Anderson is the man to talk to about starting a new club. Anderson is the coordinator of student engagement and student life for PVCC.
Although Anderson is a newer faculty member at PVCC, he is approachable and demonstrates that he truly wants students’ club ideas to become a reality. All clubs should have a beneficial contribution to PVCC.
Some clubs work to accomplish certain goals. One of which is Earth Guardians. The club’s Vice President, Lawson Leavell, strongly shared their message and was eager to answer any questions. Leavell said Earth Guardians is an international organization, with PVCC in the Charlottesville Chapter. One of Earth Guardians’ current focus is on The Great Garbage Pacific Patch, an island of garbage the size of Texas.
The Earth Guardians do more than just talk, they take action. Leavell said the US branch is suing the US Government for not enforcing its environmental regulations. The local chapter is currently seeking a grant from the National Earth Guardians.
PVCC’S Air Force ROTC Detachment 890 also had a table at club day. One of the representatives was ROTC cadet Ivan Hernandez. Hernandez is an engineering student here at PVCC. He choose PVCC specifically because of the Air Force ROTC program offered here.
Hernandez stated, “When I began last year, there were only three of us. 2-3 years before that there was only one cadet.” PVCC is part of a four-school group that makes up the detachment. Most of the current Air Force ROTC cadets are going for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) field degrees and are eligible for potential scholarships.
If interested in serving your country or being a part of The Air Force, Detachment 890 may be for you.
“The first two years are considered GMC (general military courses) and carry no military obligation- you can drop out any time and you are not obligated to serve,” Hernandez said, “I have been looking forward to this (club) day for a year and a half now.”
Detachment 890 cadets work hard as a group and have extra courses to take at UVA. Although it is not a club, Detachments 890 at PVCC has very dedicated students who want to serve and help others.
Around 2 p.m. many of the club tables started to slow down significantly with little to no students and by 3 p.m. it was a ghost town. Club day this semester showed how many of the clubs at PVCC are truly dedicated to their work outside of being a student.
If you missed club day or were not interested in the crowds, it is not too late to join a club. Contact information can be found for each club on the PVCC club page at www.pvcc.edu/student-life/clubs.
Students passions seem to shine brightest on club day. One anonymous student said, “I love it here.”
