Involvement at MSU
When you think of the word involvement, specifically involvement in college, most people think of the basics: how many organizations you’re in, which clubs they are, and how many leadership roles you hold. How are you building your resume? How are you networking? Involvement gets reduced to only business. But involvement at MSU can and should be so much more than that.
Coming to MSU 3 years ago, I made the classic freshman move of trying out for anything and everything that popped onto my Instagram feed. Student Association? Check. Community Service? Check. Leadership Roles? Check. I filled out application after application. I met with older peers to prep for interviews. I spent my nights first semester either worrying about my next interview or worrying about one I had recently had. There were some “yeses”…some clubs that accepted me that I fit right into. But things changed a little bit when I got my first “no”. It was first semester freshman year. I woke up and checked my email and received that dreaded rejection statement. It was something along the lines of “we regret to inform you,” “not enough space,” “talented application pool” – all the classic lines were there. I was devastated. However, it really did change things for me.
Since freshman year, I have been rejected several more times from organizations. Freshman year was not my final “no,” but it was the “no” that mattered. I realized afterward why I had even interviewed for that club in the first place. Everyone was doing it. It seemed like a “cool” club to join…one that everyone who was anyone tried out for. But, if I had been honest with myself, it really wasn’t something that I would have excelled in. My personal talents really didn’t align with it, and it wasn’t even something that I was interested in.
See, we get so caught up, me included, on what other people are doing that sometimes we lose sight of what would be best for us, personally. We think about what clubs our friends have joined. Are they “better” groups than the ones we’re in? Or maybe we think about how many organizations we’re involved in. Is it enough to be considered popular? Is it enough to network for your future career? But, in reality, the number of organizations, the type of organizations, the popularity of those organizations, and anything along those lines shouldn’t matter. The people that support you and even your future employers most likely aren’t going to care if the club you’re in was the most well-known on campus or if it was brand new and you were the first member. The important thing, the thing that they’ll care about, is if you joined organizations that you thrive in.
The Lord gives us all unique talents and gifts. We all aren’t the same, thank goodness, and we all have our own areas that we flourish in. This is also true of involvement…we all won’t succeed in the exact same clubs or the exact same organizations. This is okay, and it’s exactly how God intended things to be. We have 300+ organizations on our campus for a reason. This should be celebrated. We shouldn’t only cheer when someone gets into an organization that has hundreds of people try out for it, although that is a huge accomplishment of course, but we should cheer whenever anyone finds their place on campus. Finding your fit, no matter what it is, is all that matters as long as you are enjoying yourself, growing, and sharing the gifts that God gave you.
Although it took me some time, I eventually figured out that I should stop applying for groups if they really didn’t fit my talents. I started trying out for the organizations that grabbed my eye on Cowbell Connect or made me do a double-take when they were tabling on the Drill Field. I can’t promise that you won’t get rejection letters sometimes, I most certainly still do, but I can promise that I have found the most welcoming and amazing people on campus through the organizations I have joined by being myself.
In Chi Omega, as our Campus Involvement Chair, I have been able to talk about my experiences with involvement, and I have been able to try and help others find their fit. Trying out for clubs on a college campus can be overwhelming…choosing exactly which ones to try out for can be even scarier. My best advice is to really spend time thinking about your gifts and your passions and then seeking out opportunities on campus that help you use those. No club is “better” than any other. Being in an organization with 1,000 followers does not matter anymore than being in a club with no recognition at all. What matters is putting yourself out there to use the gifts that God gave you. The happiness that comes when you find a group that fits your personality like a glove is what being involved at MSU is truly all about.
