Caleb Ali, mechanical engineering, freshman, and Joshua Ali Graphic design, spin a wheel at 'The Office' fan club tent.
This fall semester Club Fair at California Baptist University took place Sept. 13, and featured more than 50 new and existing clubs.
Students were able to connect with clubs pertaining to their individual career aspirations, interests and passions.
One new group at the annual club fair this year was the CBU Art Therapy and Wellness club.
Olivia Cain, senior communication sciences and disorders major, said the club plans to meet and do art together with art therapy prompts for the purpose of personal wellness and emotional health.
“We want to encourage mental health and art within the community,” Cain said.
Also new to CBU is the Growth in Healthcare Club, which plans to connect students with an interest in healthcare to job opportunities at hospitals in the area.
Ommi Patel, junior health science major, said she started the club because many students do not know how to get connected at these hospitals or how to start building their resumes for their future in healthcare.
“A lot of students have come to me saying they have no idea how I got a job at Kaiser, so I gave them all the resources and they started doing it too,” Patel said. “From there, I reached out to hospitals and got their information so I could give it to other students. We act as a bridge to help people get connected, but for healthcare administration students, we also help them build resumes, hold workshops and help them find jobs.”
The Marketing club also made an appearance at the Club Fair for the first time this year.
Matthew Ressler, junior marketing major, said the club will bring together different ways for students of all majors to get connected within the marketing world outside of campus.
“We’re going to be partnering with a local business in Murrieta and helping them with their marketing plan,” Ressler said. “Our end goal is to educate people beyond the classroom and give them that hands-on experience the classroom doesn’t provide.”
Ressler also said the club hopes to open the door to non-marketing major students and show them that marketing can be a useful skillset to obtain for many different disciplines.
Returning to the Club Fair for a fourth year is the Pre-Physical Therapy Club, which aims to prepare students for a career in physical therapy.
Jan Edmisten, faculty adviser for the Pre-Physical Therapy Club, said the club is intentional in its approach to preparing students for physical therapy school.
“We talk about everything you need to do to apply to PT school. Our upperclassmen walk the underclassmen through that process — where to get your clinical hours, where to get your recommendations,” Edmisten said.
Another club that has continued for more than 10 years is the Environmental Science Club.
Katelyn Murphy, senior environmental science major, said the club seeks to educate students about the importance of environmental health.
This year, for the first time, the club is organizing a beach and river clean-up.
“We’re pairing with an organization that does (clean-up events) and so the whole club will go out and clean up. Along with this, we will also be doing our monthly street clean-up on Monroe Street,” Murphy said.
Anyone interested in joining a club on campus, can visit the Clubs and Organizations page under the Community Life tab on the CBU website. On this page, students can find contact information as well as a calendar with every club’s meeting time.
