Iowa State University’s Memorial Union will host around 350 to 400 clubs for the fall semester ClubFest.
ClubFest will be held 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday inside and outside the Memorial Union.
Kevin Merrill, assistant director for student organizations leadership and service, said ClubFest is an opportunity for student organizations to come together in a big event and talk to students who are interested in joining.
“It’s… a good place for all students who are interested in more involvement to come through and find out what’s available to them, and also great for the current student organizations to have an opportunity to kind of talk to other people who may not otherwise know about their club or know what their club’s up to, and get some face time with those people who might be interested in it,” Merrill said.
ClubFest will also be hosting a volunteer fair in the Campanile room at the Memorial Union and will have around 16 volunteer agencies who are looking for student volunteers.
“ClubFest is both a place for clubs and students to get involved, but also an opportunity for students to find volunteer opportunities,” Merrill said.
There are around 800 clubs at Iowa State and 350 to 400 get to participate. Merrill said their goal is to grow ClubFest.
“We want to not only give students an opportunity and a place to have a table, but then also have those tables be in the big event,” Merrill said.
Furthermore, Merrill said they try to keep the clubs together for the event because students want to be around other clubs and have it be a big event.
“Organizations can already table on their own and they can do other things,” Merrill said. “The drive of club fest is concentrating people who are interested in involvement into one place, and then having all the clubs in that place… I think you could do a similar event with student organizations on their own, but they’re not going to see thousands of people walk in the door. So I think the main advantage is that we’re providing them a table and a space and an opportunity to interact with thousands of people who are seeking out involvement at that time. And I think that makes it unique.”
Merrill also mentioned that some members of clubs see other clubs that they didn’t know existed and might join those, as well.
“It’s kind of like a nice way to see involved people also see other involved people and get involved in different ways,” Merrill said. “That’s kind of like an added benefit.”
Merrill emphasized that everyone is there for the same reason, and he wants people to know they should feel confident going up and talking to any club about what they do.
“You don’t have to feel strange or odd or unsure because those people are there to talk to students about their involvement opportunities,” Merrill said. “Otherwise, they wouldn’t have spent their time registering and getting materials together and standing there.”
He expressed that ClubFest is an opportunity for students to find the thing that they connect to the most in their college experience.
“It shows you just how big the Iowa State community is and that they can find their part in it,” Merrill said. “I think it’s really, really cool. And that many students willing to put that much time into being there just to answer questions about what they’re up to just shows you that they’re invested in themselves and their organizations and the legacies of those organizations continuing.”
