By Charley Reed
When applying for college or any scholarships involved in pursuit of that education, there is one categorie many students seem to always have trouble filling. That pesky section asks what clubs, organizations or volunteer work they have done in their high school career.
As those same students will soon find out, getting involved with your school and its organizations is a necessity, not only for college applications but job applications as well.
Luckily for them UNO has more than enough organizations in which to get involved.
For those interested in getting involved, Student Organizations and Leadership Programs should be a student’s first stop for information and advice.
This parent organization is home to three sub-groups that are influential in how things operate around campus.
The Student Programming Organization provides many entertainment events for students throughout the year.
Student Government is where strong-minded students can help shape how the university serves their peers.
For those wanting to get involved in shaping social life on campus, there are a trio of Greek Councils that oversee the sororities and fraternities on campus.
Sharif Liwaru, organizations advisor for SOLP, said it’s important for incoming freshman to get involved early on in their college careers.
“They [freshmen] generally have a lot of passion about being involved in something,” Liwaru said. “If they are able to capitalize on that by getting involved with an organization early, it’s going to carry the organization really far and at the same time introduce them to new people.”
UNO is home to dozens of diverse organizations for students looking to take Liwaru’s advice to heart. There is a professional organization or special interest group for seemingly every fraction of the spectrum.
For those bitten by the communications bug, Ad Club, Society of Professional Journalists and the UNO chapter of Public Relations Student Society of America are great options.
Those with a penchant for politics can get involved with the basic groups like College Democrats or College Republicans, but also sink their teeth into specialist organizations like Americans for Informed Democracy or Socialist Alternative.
Religious, ethnic and special interest groups are as varied and diverse as the student body, and even student athletes can find programs at the professional and intramural level at UNO.
Life-long academic? UNO offers the Honors Program and dozens of specific honor societies.
Even upperclassmen or transfer students shouldn’t feel that it’s too late; several years at college can actually maximize a student’s time in an organization, Liwaru said.
“You learn a lot in an organization in a short period of time,” Liwaru said. “If you’re accepting responsibilities, volunteering where need be, stepping up and maybe even taking an officer position, the skill set that you’re going to learn from that are going to be helpful for those in college.”
If any of this has sparked an interest, make time on Aug. 24 to take in the Clubs and Organizations Fair outside of the Milo Bail Student Center, where students can meet and greet a majority of the organizations and clubs that UNO has to offer.
For those still not finding anything that interests them, there is no need to fear. Liwaru encourages students to stop by the SOLP offices on the first floor of the Milo Bail Student Center and start an organization of their own.
