Make the most of your time at college by showing up and getting involved. Stay on campus after your last class ends. Don’t sit in your car between classes. Don’t hide in a corner of the library while you study.
Finding a student activity and a hobby to do with others on campus can make a difference between a great college experience and one that could be more challenging or even frustrating.
“There are tons of opportunities on campus to get involved,” said Kara Hotchkiss, director of residence life and coordinator of student engagement. “You should not be bored while you are here. If you are complaining that you are bored and you don’t know what to do, I can promise you that is a personal choice because we try to make sure there is always something going on.”
Hotchkiss said her position on campus is to ensure students have a fulfilling and rewarding student life. She said she speaks from personal experience when she explains the importance of becoming involved as much as possible during a student’s college years.
“I was that student that sat in her car between classes, and my first semester of college I was miserable,” she said. “I started to enjoy my own college experience when I started to make an effort to meet people and get involved.”
Hotchkiss said college should not be limited to taking classes, studying, and getting a degree. It’s also a social event, a networking opportunity, and a chance to make friends and acquaintances that will be beneficial later in life.
“College is meant to be a 360-degree experience. Having hobbies outside of the classroom presents opportunities to take a break from potential stress or burdens imposed by constant schoolwork,” she said. “It allows students to connect with peers that share similar interests, network with the professional staff facilitating the events, and potentially discover new interests.”
Some of the ways in which students can be involved while enrolled in classes at WVU Potomac State College are by attending one of the student clubs and organizations – each one with its own varying niche of interests:
· Active Minds
· Ag & Forestry Club
· Baptist Campus Ministry
· Catamount Gamers
· Collegiate Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation
· Creative Writing Club
· CRU: Potomac State
· Equine Club
· Faith Community Health and Wellness Club
· Homesteading Club
· International Club
· Japanese Club
· PSC Book Worms
· PSC Serves/Rotaract
· Shut Up and Write
· Sip & Stitch
· Spanish Club
· SPECTRUM
· Student Government Association
· STEM Club
In addition to the clubs listed above, students are also welcome to form their own clubs. Potential new clubs and organizations are screened by Hotchkiss and her student life staff. Once a faculty or staff advisor is assigned to the club or organization, the charter is official, and activities under the banner of that club can commence.
“We have tons of student clubs and organizations. It is up to each student to get out and interact and find something to occupy your time,” Hotchkiss said. “We all love it here, and we want our students to love it here as well.”
National studies have shown that students who get involved in campus activities also tend to be better students in general. The National Survey of Student Engagement, the Center for Postsecondary Research at Indiana University, The Association of College and University Housing Officers-International, Student Experience in the Research University Consortium, the National Institute of Health, and the National College Health Assessment have all conducted varying research that bears the same conclusions.
· Students who engage in campus activities often earn higher grades and are more likely to graduate.
· Campus events, clubs, and student jobs help students build an instant network with peers, professors, and industry leaders.
· Joining student government or leading a club builds real-world skills like time management, teamwork, and problem-solving.
· A vibrant campus atmosphere provides a strong sense of community, reducing isolation and giving a positive boost to overall mood.
· Student clubs and organizations can help with crucial life skills, problem-solving, personal responsibility, and how to adapt to diverse backgrounds
“Being involved, especially on a smaller campus like Potomac State, presents students with an immense amount of opportunity and connectedness, which often continues after students graduate,” said Hotchkiss. “Events hosted on campus cover a variety of different interests, skills, and audiences.”
Potomac State College offers student and group programs specifically designed to teach students new tasks, like Adulting 101, or help them refine skills they already have, like at The Writing Center. There are programs that focus on mental health-related things like art therapy, Wellness Wednesdays, Sand Therapy, and even Equine Therapy. PSC offers programs that are recreational in nature as well, like field trips to a local beach when weather permits, kickball, capture the flag, and intramural tournaments. And then there are passive activities where a student can still be involved socially without breaking a sweat, like movie nights, ice cream socials, and dirty soda bars.
“Having a support system locally is important because most often, those people are experiencing similar things in life,” said Hotchkiss. “They can relate, sympathize, and understand what’s going on because they are in the same boat.”
Participating in extracurricular interests and becoming involved in activities outside the classroom is healthy in general, allowing the brain to learn through experiences and to tap into an area of the mind that releases feel-good chemicals.
“Hobbies that involve completing a project allow us to express ourselves, show our skills, and feel a sense of pride and accomplishment,” said Michelle House, behavioral health therapist. “Additionally, when we are creating, there is increased physical activity in our bodies - dopamine, serotonin, and other feel-good hormones are being released - and heightened physical awareness, like sensations and breathing, and emotional awareness, like thought processes and feelings. When we complete projects, we feel more confident and have a greater sense of pride and success, which is especially important if we don’t feel those emotions in other parts of our lives.”
Creative expression and recreational activities were always a major part of childhood development. Adults often forget the value of being social and becoming involved in a group activity. And as we become less involved, our health reacts.
“At some point, and it’s usually around high school, we start to lose our sense of wonder, of ‘play,’ of being carefree. Responsibilities take precedence over ‘having fun.’ So, doing something that brings us joy allows us to tap into our inner child, and an even better benefit is that it lowers our cortisol - the stress hormone that raises blood pressure and blood sugar levels, and causes weight gain, sleep disturbances, and illness,” said House.
Finding a hobby – especially one that involves other like-minded people – can be mentally stimulating and promote retention of information.
“Having hobbies and passions outside of school or work allows us to explore the creative side of our brain. Sometimes we don’t get enough time with that part of ‘self.’ Take a moment and think back to when you were young,” said House.
Play and social activities with other adults can and should be beneficial to development throughout life – not just the early years.
“When we immerse ourselves in an individual mindful hobby, it helps us to stay in the present moment and not fixate and worry about everything that’s coming up like deadlines, papers, tests, projects, and work responsibilities,” said House. “And if we engage in group hobbies like book clubs, art classes, community groups, we can find connection with others, which helps combat loneliness.”
Looking for something to do? Here are some upcoming activities, each affording students a chance to get involved, network, learn something new, be social, and have some fun.
Tuesday, September 22
Ecotherapy, 4 p.m. Reynolds Hall Lounge
Capture the Flag, 7 p.m. Stayman Field
Wednesday, September 23
Daddy T’s Smokin’ BBQ Truck, 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. The Quad
CRU Weekly Meeting, 1 p.m. Student Union
Shut Up and Write Weekly Meeting, 2:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. Mary F. Shipper Library
Equine Club Meeting, 6 p.m. Heritage Room
Sip and Stitch Weekly Meeting, 6 p.m. Mary F. Shipper Library Room C6
Well Wednesday, 7 p.m. Reynolds Hall Lounge
Thursday, September 24
Make Your Own Squishy, 7 p.m. Heritage Room
Friday, September 25
Make Your Own Dirty Soda Bar, 1 p.m. Heritage Room
Saturday, September 26
Women’s Soccer Game, 12 p.m. Stayman Field
Sunday, September 27
Master Gunnery Sgt. Kevin Bennear Performance, 2 p.m. Church McKee Arts Center