Hi everyone, my name is Victoria Travers. I’m a senior at Clarkson, and I also work in the Marketing Department here! As you may know, Clarkson has a lot of student-run clubs that many students are involved in. Today, though, I’m going to be talking about some of the clubs and organizations that you may not know about! It’s almost guaranteed that the variety of clubs offer something for everyone. The following list of student-run groups just scratches the surface of the numerous clubs on campus.
This beekeeping club is new and growing! They currently have about 20 active members. The Clarkson Keepers were founded by the club’s current president, Sara Cote, who is an avid beekeeper. The club currently has one active hive on campus and one contract hive at the Dean of Students’ house. Club members maintain both hives in exchange for half of the honey harvest. This fall, they harvested and sold 25 pounds of honey! To a beekeeper with little or no experience, the art of keeping a hive running can seem like a daunting task. However, with the experience and knowledge acquired through membership in the Clarkson Keepers, it becomes second nature! Members love to interact with the bees, and opportunities for this arise a few times each semester during routine hive checks and maintenance or while harvesting honey in the fall. Being a member of the Clarkson Keepers provides a truly one-of-a-kind experience — right in their own backyards!
Since its beginning in 2012-13, Dance Ensemble has grown to about 30 active members. Dance Ensemble welcomes all types of dancers, ranging from experienced competitive dancers to people who have never danced before. Every week one member choreographs a dance and then has three days to teach and perfect it. The Ensemble performs a recital (also a food drive) at the end of each semester. Members also dance at the talent show, pep rallies and other school events, in addition to Relay for Life and much more! Students perform all types of dance, including jazz, ballet, tap, lyrical, step, acro, hip hop and modern. This is awesome because people are taken out of their comfort zones and given the opportunity to try a new style of dance! Dance Ensemble also hold workshops every other weekend that allow dancers to stretch and learn new styles, in addition to attending workshops in yoga, Zumba and turn. The Dance Ensemble would love new members and is open to all new styles of dance. And the Ensemble is not demanding of students’ time. It’s up to each individual; you dance when you want to dance!
Clarkson Theatre Company is a community theatre for Clarkson and SUNY Potsdam students, as well as community members from the surrounding area. Currently there are 28 Clarkson members registered on Knight Life, however, there are many more members from the community and SUNY Potsdam. The group usually does three productions a year, one in the fall and two in spring. These shows offer a great creative outlet for members, who may not have the option to practice theatre academically due to classes or majors. Dancers have tons of fun both on and off stage. From work sessions and cast parties to general meetings (Wednesdays at 7 p.m. in Snell 214), it is always a good time. Even if you don’t have any previous show experience, you are still more than welcome to audition or join the company!
The Paintball Club brings the sport of paintball to all who are interested. Veterans of the game and those who have never played before are welcome to join club members each weekend and for large international events! The club usually meets on weekends to play; they also occasionally meet on Wednesdays to coordinate larger events. The Club travels to Canada for a few events, but most of the time they play at a local field. Once or twice a semester the Club invites non-members to bring their friends to try paintball before officially joining the club.
Clarkson Strategic Investment Group
This club was created to promote interest in world financial markets and to increase members’ financial literacy beyond what they may learn in the classroom. Meetings are open to all students in any major and with any level of investment knowledge and experience. Group members use interactive methods of learning, such as Marketwatch stock simulator games to demonstrate the constant changes in the market, and help each other to identify good or bad investments. The long-term goal of the group is to acquire sufficient capital to act as an Angel Investor for student entrepreneurs and local small business start-up ventures. Members aim to establish a Venture Capital fund with a portion of the profits generated from the investment portfolio. This fund will provide innovative members of the Clarkson community, including students, faculty and residents, with a source of capital to finance their ideas!
For the duration of the spring 2019 semester, the club is excitedly working on a new interactive stock market project, the Bracket Competition. In the first week of the competition, 16 members will present on various companies within a selected sector. They will then monitor the growth of each company’s stock over a two-week period. Members whose stock has the greatest growth will move forward to compete in a new sector the following week! All members who do not progress in the competition may vote on which stocks they believe will win in the remaining matchups, receiving points for each correct vote. Prizes will be awarded to the final bracket winner and the voter with the highest total points. Club members believe this will increase member involvement in and understanding of the stock market!
So, I hope that you now have some idea of how vast and interesting our club life is here at Clarkson! We truly do have clubs for everyone, and everyone involved in a club is so passionate about what they do. Even if you have no prior experience, join a club that you find interesting, and the members will be more than happy to help you learn!
