Take an interest in the student organizations and clubs that your school offers! There’s bound to be one or two that are relevant to your interests, and they can be a good way to network and make friends as well as potentially gain leadership experience.
The E- Board Members of the Rutgers University Chapter of the Black Student Union
Last night they held a celebration of revolutionary Black youth to kick off the start of Black History Month. Follow their Twitter and Instagram @rubsu
Pottery in Motion: Behind the Scenes in the Ceramics Studio
Watching a ceramics artist make a piece is mesmerizing; although the push and pull of clay that turns a blob into a bowl might look simple, there’s a lot going on in the artists’ brain to make it happen.
Kelly Grant, a Fine Arts student with a concentration in Ceramics and the President of the IPFW Ceramics Guild, let me hang out in the ceramics studio while the club prepared pieces for their Spring pottery sale, which will take place Thursday, March 16 from 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. in Walb Union by the Bookstore.
Check out some of her thoughts on art and the value of collaboration, as well as another pottery video below!
On the most challenging thing about ceramics…
Knowing when to quit and give up probably. A lot of people sit around and mess with something so much but it’s just like get rid of it and start over…ceramics is a medium that you have to just grow with.
That was hard for me. I always wanted to do things perfectly the first time around but you can’t. You’ve gotta learn to give up. If something breaks don’t try to fix it, because it’s probably gonna take you more time to try and fix it than to make a new one.
When we first learn how to throw on the wheel, our professor makes us do “cylinder boot camp” where we have to make a bunch of cylinders and we don’t get to keep them or anything; we have to throw them all away because it’s just trying to get us to practice making our forms nicely. The new students get upset and they’re like “I wanna keep it!”
On the club’s upcoming trip to Portland, Oregon…
It’s the National Council on the Education of Ceramics Arts. That’s the long name -- we just call it NCECA. Every year ceramics artists go from all over the United States. We all congregate in one city and we just have this conference; it’s about four days long and there’s a bunch of different galleries that open up. There’s also vendors that sell tools, lectures and demos by well known artists doing things and techniques and all that kinda stuff. There’s a lot of grad programs and colleges that show up.
I’m excited to take this group of people again and show them all the stuff we can learn. We collaborate with each other in the studio, but they get to see people from New York, and Chicago, and Texas. We had to do a lot of fundraising to be able to go. Last year we just drove, so it wasn’t that big of a deal. This time it’s in Oregon and we can’t really drive. We’re flying, and paying for all the plane tickets was the biggest part of our budget. We did a lot of pottery sales and asked student government for money, and we’re having another pottery sale on March 16th.
On collaboration and community…
IPFW is a small college. It’s big for what it is but it’s like a community college because of being commuting students I think. So I wanna bring that big campus vibe where it’s like everyone’s involved and bring that here and get us all involved with something.
I feel better about myself when I’m involved or I do things with other students and I want others to feel that way too. That’s kinda what I’m going for, but I know it’s hard for people when you have jobs and go to school and pay bills and all that stuff. You go to school then you go to work and then you do homework that’s due the next day. But it’s fun to bounce ideas off each other and make stuff together and critique each other and be like “oh yeah, you could do this” and help each other out. And then we get to travel and do fun things together and work together to get funds.
I feel like ceramics people are just in general very sharing. We like to share ideas and share recipes for glazes and different clay bodies.
Do you know a Don or Student Org that’s doing something cool? Contact Alexandra Bridwell at [email protected], because Inside IPFW would love to write about them!
Advertising and Public Relations Student Organizations to Check Out
If you’re feeling overwhelmed with tabling, west mall, professor emails, students org representative visits to your classes we’ve all been there and that’s okay. As a senior in my last semester, I wish I would have been more involved in student organizations earlier on in my college career. I often took for granted the wonderful opportunities that are constantly presented to us as students, but little did I know how lucky we truly are to part of the #1 Advertising and PR program in the nation. So I’m here to give you a short rundown of student orgs that will help you expand your network.
Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA)
About: The Dr. Alan Scott Chapter is one of the largest student chapters in the nation. PRSSA meets every other Tuesday in Belo and always has food. Guest speakers range from industry professionals in various communication roles. In addition to meetings, PRSSA offers a mentorship program, PRSA networking events, socials, agency visits in Austin, exclusive internship and job postings, and much more. Needless to say, PRSSA strives to teach the skills that won’t be learned in the classroom or by reading a textbook. Whether you’re a PR major or just interested in professional communications, I would definitely check them out.
Texas Tower PR
About: Texas Tower PR is the only student-run public relations firm at UT. If you’re looking to move a step further and work with real nonprofit clients on real projects, I would head over to their website and check out their work. The application deadline for this spring has passed, however make sure to keep your eyes peeled for the fall!
Texas Advertising Group (TAG)
About: TAG is the official collegiate chapter of the American Advertising Federation at the University of Texas at Austin. Their meetings take place every Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. (right after PRSSA!) on the first floor of Belo. Aside from their weekly speaker series that hosts media professionals, creatives, marketers, and CEOs, etc., TAG puts together four different networking trips across U.S. Cities including Dallas, New York City, Chicago and San Francisco. I attended both Chicago and San Francisco trips and highly recommend it. Nothing beats getting to see these agencies in action and truly be in their working space. It’s crazy how spread out the Texas Exes network really is.
Minorities in Advertising (MIA)
About: Started in 2013 by a small group of female multicultural students, MIA’s goal is to “increase knowledge of advertising opportunities available for multicultural students, create a community to foster networking relationships as well as promote diversity in the communications field,” according to their website. MIA meetings take place every other Thursday and always have yummy food. Outside of meetings, MIA hosts socials, attend conferences and more. In addition, MIA members are constantly selected to be part of MAIP’s summer fellowship. Make sure to check out their Instagram page - it’s pretty cool and always has inspirational content.
Communication Council or Comm Council
About: Comm Council is the official student voice and governing body for the Moody College of Communication. You’ve probably seen them tabling outside the Student Leadership Suite on the first floor of Belo. It includes members from all six majors in the college, striving to draw in a diverse group of students who can offer ways to improve our college. Comm Council serves as the liaison between students, faculty, staff, and administration between the college and the rest of the campus. Applications for this semester have already closed so make sure to keep your eyes open for Fall recruitment. In the meantime, you can always catch members handing out cookies and other sweet treats to brighten up your day.
Campus Events + Entertainment (E+E)
About: E+E is the premier student programming organization on campus. There are ten different committees within the overarching organization and hundreds of students participating, so there are endless opportunities to be a part of. Committees include Texas Traditions, known for preserving large-scale UT traditions such as Texas Revue; Distinguished Speakers, which will soon be hosting Eric Schmidt, the Executive Chairman of Alphabet, Inc.; and Asian American Culture, which just hosted its knockout Lunar New Year celebration. Texas AdGrad’s Original Content Team Lead, Abby Bollinger, happens to be the chair of Texas Traditions! Check out what she has to say about E+E!
“I have been involved in Campus Events + Entertainment for three years now and it has been one of the most rewarding experiences I have had at UT. The organization provides countless opportunities to learn about event planning, develop as a leader, and make lifelong friends. Outside of the amazing events Texas Traditions puts on every year, I am so thankful for the team of advisors that trained me to take over as the 2016-2017 chair. Their continual guidance is allowing me to learn more than I ever thought I would about what it means to be an effective leader.”
MinuteMen Creatives (MMC)
MinuteMen Creatives (MMC) is a student-run ad agency specializing in creative strategy and execution within The University of Texas at Austin. MMC’s aim is to expose their members to industry knowledge and practices, and even more so, to gain acceptance into the noteworthy Texas Creative track within the Stan Richards School of Advertising & PR. All active members that applied that into Portfolio 1. MinuteMen Creatives is constantly recruiting new accounts to partner with, including student orgs and non-profits. MMC offers free graphic design, copywriting, and creative execution to any individual or collective, only compensating with experience gained from working with actual clients. Check out their Facebook for meeting information. Contact them at [email protected]
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These are just some students organizations that you could but a part of, but UT offers something for everyone, and if not, all you need is $20 and three members. Regardless, take advantage of the opportunities and get involved early. You will get out of the student organizations what you put into it so make sure to make the most of it. Find an organization that sparks your interest and fuels your brain. This sounds cliché, but your time at UT goes by fast and before you know it these opportunities will be gone. Expand your network now and give back to the organizations that give so much. The friendships you make through these opportunities will last you a lifetime.
