Why you should join clubs and societies at university
13 December 2024
Fine Art student, Jessie shares her inspiring journey of joining the Cheerleading society at Falmouth University.
Discover how getting involved in student clubs and societies has transformed her university experience - helping her make friends, boost her mental health, and even perform at exciting events.
Hi there. I'm Jessie, one of the members and coaches for the Falmouth and Exeter Cheerleading club.
I am the biggest proponent for joining clubs and societies when you come to university. I found it to be one of the absolute best parts about my university experience. I love it more than anything. So, I want to take you in to see a little bit of what it's like to be a part of the Cheerleading club and just generally to get involved with clubs and societies here at Falmouth University.
Making lifelong friends
So, I joined the Cheerleading club when I was in my first year of university, right at the very beginning when I was settling in, and I didn't have any friends yet and it's where I made all my best friends. I mean, look at us - we're so cute! And we are still best friends now, three years strong. So, I cannot be more thankful for being able to find my friends in a club. It's such a great way to make friends because you're seeing the same people consistently and they all share similar interest with you. It's kind of an icebreaker. It makes it easy to start conversations. I'm so glad that I joined the Cheerleading club in order, if nothing else, just to find my friends.
Mental health benefits
Being in the Cheerleading club has also been great for my mental health because I'm someone that really needs consistency. I need routine, so having a space to do exercise, socialise, knowing it's the same time every single week, especially during busy deadline season, when I really need a break from it all has been so good for my mental health and I would definitely recommend it.
Inclusive and welcoming community
Something else that's great, not just about the Cheerleading club but about the clubs and societies in general, is that there's a really big emphasis on inclusivity and welcoming everyone. So, for Cheerleading, regardless of skill level or experience, absolutely everybody is welcoming and it's just such a great environment to try something new and learn new skills, and really put yourself out there, which is great not just for the activity that you're doing, but just for building confidence in yourself in general and your abilities. I think that's such a great thing to learn and it's such a valuable skill when you leave university as well.
Unforgettable opportunities
Aside from the very fun practices, I have had some of the most amazing, unexpected opportunities of my entire life happen in the last three years because of joining the Cheerleading club. From going to parts of the country I'd never seen before to go to competitions, to performing in front of 800 people at our big student boxing event, to having a paid trip up to London to perform at a corporate Christmas party for our sponsor.
I never ever expected to be doing these things while I was here at university and yet they're my absolute most cherished memories of the last three years. I got to do them all with my best friends and I just absolutely love that I've gotten to do these things, and it's pushed me so far out of my comfort zone. I've done some things that I so scared of, but I have had the best time, and I would have never ever done anything like that if I hadn't joined the Cheerleading club. It's really opened so many doors and opportunities for me that I really do think that I will be thinking about for the rest of my life.
Learning leadership and life skills
As I mentioned, I am not just a team member but I'm also one of the committee members for our Cheerleading team. Doing these committee roles has been like having my own little secondary degree on top of doing a Fine Art degree because it has taught me so much about leadership and management that I would have never learned if I hadn't become a committee member. It was like a hands-on, crash course in absolutely everything that you need to know to manage a big group of people. If that's something that you're interested in learning about, it's such a great opportunity to join a club, and you have the potential to become a committee member and learn so much - and it's fun!
Over 150 societies to choose from
I'm obviously a big lover of the Cheerleading club but if that's not your thing, that's completely okay. There are over 150 different clubs and societies to try out at Falmouth University. So, whatever you're interested in, whether that be sea swimming or football or knit and crochet or Taylor Swift or orchestra - anything you can think of, we probably have it. So, give it a try. You might make new friends, you might learn new skills, you might end up becoming a leader, but if you take it from me, I think it's very worth, at least, giving it a go.