You’ve moved everything into your new place. You’ve wandered through Campustown. There’s a full school year ahead of you and there are plenty of opportunities outside of your class schedule. First off, make sure you check out WelcomeFest and ClubFest.

WelcomeFest is a great chance to check out local businesses and introduce yourself to faculty members of your department. Clubfest showcases many of the student organizations and clubs Iowa State has to offer. If you played chess in high school, enjoy dancing, are passionate about feral cats or maybe are just looking for a group to belong to, there is an ISU club or organization for you.

Throughout the year, there are also many opportunities to participate in intramural sports. Soccer, tennis, broomball, dodgeball, football, basketball, you name it, they have intramurals for it. Intramurals are a great way to bring together friends from your floor, classmates and friends from your hometown. Just make sure you check the schedules and sign up ahead of time, so you are certain you get to play.

Of course, there are plenty of sporting events to check out. With a football team that won last year’s Insight Bowl, there should be plenty of exciting games this season. Tailgating before football games is a great way to meet other students and is generally a lot of fun. Besides the more popular football and men’s basketball, there are plenty of other great competitions to watch, such as volleyball, women’s basketball, wrestling and soccer.

Besides sports, there are plenty of other events to check out on campus. The M-Shop in the Memorial Union is a great venue for live music with shows from both local and nationally touring bands. Besides live music, the M-Shop also hosts several student-run plays and Grandma Mojo’s Moonshine Revival, a student improv comedy troupe. The basement of the Memorial Union is home to The Underground, a place to bowl, play table tennis and billiards or just hang out with your friends.

For major Broadway acts and performing arts, check out Stephens Auditorium. This year, they’re having productions of “Legally Blonde,” “Mama Mia!” and “Fiddler on the Roof.” Also, several orchestras are coming to perform, Chris Cagle has a concert and a talk with bestselling author David Sedaris.

There are plenty of things you’ll hear about from upperclassmen, whether it’s cramming for tests, going sledding down hills on trays or the week-long Veishea festival held in the spring.

When you’re not in class or studying, go do something fun. Go see a show. Play basketball at Lied Recreation Center. Read a book that isn’t required for any of your classes. You’ve got years of college ahead of you, so you’d best start enjoying them right away.