ClubFest drew many Iowa State students to the Memorial Union on Wednesday.
The annual event featured a large number of student organizations and clubs, where members displayed presentations and other pitches in order to recruit new members.
Bryan Kurpiewski, a senior in marketing, represented the Iowa State Men’s Hockey Club as a board member and assistant coach for the team.
“There’s a big Cyclone community and that’s something we’ve been lacking the past couple years, so we’re just trying to get out more and get more fans involved,” Kurpiewski said.
Kurpiewski said that ClubFest gave the team an opportunity to achieve their goal of selling more tickets and creating new fans to fill the Ames/ISU Ice Arena.
“Our fanbase right now seems to be parents and a few friends of the guys,” Kurpiewski said. “Most kids here don’t even know that we have a hockey team.”
Soyeon You, a graduate student in hospitality management, represented the Club Management Association of America (CMAA) as the club’s treasurer.
You said that the goal of CMAA is to provide students with internships, network opportunities and hands-on experience in the club management and hospitality industry.
“It’s really important to engage in club management because it is part of popular trends like tourism and hospitality,” You said. “There are a lot of benefits and opportunities.”
Zoey Pearsall, a junior in elementary education, and Brenna Fast, a junior in English, represented A Novel Idea Book Club (ANIBC).
Pearsall said that the club meets weekly in the MU, where members read around 50 pages a week and discuss them with snacks and other activities.
Pearsall joined ANIBC when there were only a few members after the COVID-19 pandemic put the club on hiatus.
“It was very dead,” Pearsall said. “I wanted to help revive it because I really love books, and it was a good use of my free time.”
Fast said that ANIBC is perfect for students who struggle to find the time to read books during their busy college schedule.
“Reading can be really difficult during college life, so this gives you a bit more commitment,” Fast said. “This keeps you on track for reading over the year and lets you explore genres that you might not always read.”
Luke Juffer, a senior in economics, and Tanisha Magikar, a junior in computer science, were ambassadors for the Student Union Board (SUB) at ClubFest.
Juffer said that SUB oversees and plans various events at Iowa State.
“We do a ton of events in the MU and throughout Iowa State,” Juffer said. “Some examples are Cyclone Cinema, which are free concerts every weekend at Carver, comedy nights, multicultural events and everything in the MU is basically us.”
Magikar said that SUB is a great way to meet new people and gain leadership experience.
“It’s a neat way to meet new people from different backgrounds and get to work with them,” Magikar said.
TJ Cofer, a graduate student in genetics and genomics, said that being a part of the Philosophy Club is a great way to express his passion for the subject.
“Someone at the beginning of our meetings will give a presentation about a wide array of topics, and then we’ll split into groups,” Cofer said.“I love being able to encourage people to engage in these kinds of discussions.”
Cofer said that the club will bring in experts and professors to discuss various topics like free will, politics and religion.
“I think that philosophy is something we all think about,” Cofer said. “Being familiar with the arguments experts in this topic are making will enrich our own thinking about these things.”
