Calling all students!
Campus clubs and sports can enrich college experience and build life-long bonds
By Grabryelle Breski
Knightly News Reporter
gabryelle.breski@mymail.centralpenn.edu
Folks are excited about Central Penn College’s plans to hold its annual Athletics and Activities Awards Banquet on Thursday in the Conference Center.
It’s not a secret that Central Penn has a small student population, but when it comes to celebrating student success, the college – as the banquet, for which registration was required, shows – follows through.
The Athletics and Activities Banquet celebrates the success of athletics, clubs and students on campus, and it’s one of many ways the college celebrates its students and its wider campus community.
And students can celebrate themselves, and grow and learn beyond the classroom. Examples of clubs and teams, how to get involved and how getting involved can add to students’ college experiences and success, and success after college, are outlined below.
Different types of success
Success appears differently in each aspect of student life. In athletics, success can be measured through statistics, leadership, sports or academic achievements. For clubs, success can be measured through events held, changes made to club missions or activities, or increases in membership. For any student, success varies widely. Not every student can be recognized at the banquet, but students are seen through their ability to lead, overcome and achieve great moments during their time with the club or team they’re involved with.
Central Penn has over 20 clubs and 10 sports teams. The best part of the clubs on campus is that each one has at least one adviser and student leaders. The clubs allow students to make a change on their campus and create opportunities for learning, making friends and activities for future students.
A personal perspective
As a student leader, I enjoy planning for each term and speaking with club members about how we can improve. It’s a part of life that each student must know. A student must see his or her strengths and weaknesses.
The clubs and sports teams also provide a sense of community. In a small school, it’s easier to meet people on campus but each student must find a place at Central Penn, like anywhere else. College is a period of finding the next passion for life and for some students that may require some changes. With clubs and sports, students have the chance to surround themselves with other students who have similar interests and hobbies.
College also is a time when lives are headed in a new, unknown, direction to destinations that can be confusing and draining. Students who get involved can find resources and reliable individuals to help them through.
Something for everyone
Clubs on campus vary by the students’ major, interests or schedule. They meet at different times. Every student has a different schedule, but a variety of clubs and teams and other activities means there’s a place for every type of student to learn, express himself or herself, and to grow.
Clubs like Student Ambassadors and the Activities Advisory Board, which work with future and current students to create the campus the students want, are prime examples of involvement in college life. The Student Ambassadors lead campus tours and encourage a positive first experience on campus. The Activities and Advisory Board works with the student engagement office to plan events to get students involved.
The Student Government Association connects the student body and the college administration. SGA officers meet with President Linda Fedrizzi-Williams and her cabinet to discuss student interests and to plan special events.
Other clubs are geared toward specific interests, such as Art Club, Gaming Club and The Knightly News Media Club. The first two clubs are geared toward the activity in the name.
The Knightly News Media Club consists of many, but not only, communications majors interested in podcasting, broadcasting, writing and photography. The club publishes news and feature articles (yes – you’re reading one), and podcasts, for the college and wider community on The Knightly News blog. At the end of each term, the club produces a printed publication to highlight student-reporters’ stories from the preceding term, and for students to have as hard-copy examples of their work, such as for interviews and their own college-memorabilia collection. A team of club members interested in sports reporting helps produce and commentates on livestreams of home Central Penn athletics sports matches. The club has two designated sports reporters who provide the text stories for home matches for blog packages that include photos and an embedded recording of the livestreamed event that’s hosted on the club’s YouTube page.
Another group of clubs advocates for and works to maintain diversity, and promotes awareness and appreciation of differences among students. The Black Student Union, for example, works to bring attention to varying ethnicities of the student body, and to any issues between or among those students and higher education, offering education, dialogue, activities and solutions. Another group, called the Equal Knights, works to create a campus on which everyone is given the chance to learn from one another and to advocate for equality.
What sports teams does Central Penn have?
The athletics department consists of men’s teams:
- Baseball
- Basketball
- Cross country
- Soccer
- Esports
- Track
It also consists of women’s teams:
- Basketball
- Softball
- Cheer
- Soccer
- Track
- Cross country
- Esports
- Volleyball
Some of the highlights from previous years are:
- Men’s Baseball 2023 and 2024 Eastern States Athletic Conference champions.
- Women’s Basketball 2023 Eastern States Athletic Conference champions.
- Esports 2022 National Association of Collegiate Esports StarLeague Rocket League National champions.
Who can join clubs and when?
Most clubs have open enrollment, which means any student can join at any time. However, some clubs have some requirements or exceptions. For example, SGA members are SGA officers and must be voted in. Another example is the Gamma Beta Phi Honor Society. To join, a student must maintain at least a 3.0 GPA while taking full-time classes and must be invited.
If interested in joining any clubs, click here or contact RomeoAzondekon@centralpenn.edu with questions.
For athletics, reach out to Kasey Hicks at KaseyHicks@centralpenn.edu.
Why get involved?
Remember: Involvement on campus provides opportunities for students to improve their resumes and network with people who have experience in the field students are interested in.
Involvement in college activities also can help students build a group of people they can trust and lean on during their academic careers.
College is challenging in many ways, and it is better to meet a challenge with a team behind you than to meet the challenge alone.
Any student can pave the way at any time in his or her academic career, so make clubs and activities part of that path now.
Breski is president of The Knightly News Media Club @ Central Penn College and is active in other campus clubs.
Comments or story idea? Contact KnightlyEditors@CentralPenn.Edu.
Edited by media-club co-adviser and blog editor Professor Michael Lear-Olimpi.
