08/13/2018
By Katharine Webster

Joining a student club, a club or intramural sports team, a volunteer effort or Greek organization can be the best part of your college experience. Ditto for the gospel choir, student government or campus newspaper.

You’ll find friends who share your passions, you’ll get to know caring faculty and staff and you’ll learn leadership skills. 

And UMass Lowell makes it easy, starting with the annual Engagement Fair on Sept. 4. Just step outside the Tsongas Center right after Convocation and check out the options. (There’s a barbecue, too.)

There are more than 250 student clubs and organizations on campus. If you don’t find one that’s right for you, you can always gather a few friends and start your own, with help from staff at Student Activities & Leadership, the Office of Multicultural Affairs or the Campus Recreation Center.

Your social life isn’t the only thing that will benefit when you get involved: Research says you’ll do better academically, too.  And when things get stressful, you’ll have something fun to look forward to.

Here’s a sampling of students who say involvement has made a big difference in their experience at UML. 

Image by K. Webster

Never underestimate the power of free food.

Free pizza lured Stephanie Carnazzo and two of her friends to a meeting of A.C.E., the Association for Campus Events, a couple of years ago.

They all agreed to join the group’s “e-board” – slang for executive board. Carnazzo became “Traditions” chair, helping Student Activities staff plan huge, campuswide events like Homecoming and Spring Carnival.

Now she’s president of the club, which has taken off, pulling in more students who plan multiple events open to the entire campus.

Carnazzo has taken off, too. Once so shy that “I couldn’t even talk on the phone,” she’s grown comfortable speaking up in meetings with faculty, staff and top university administrators – and learned other skills that will help her in a career someday. 

“I’ve grown as an individual,” she says. “One thing I’ve noticed by getting involved is how much the faculty cares, and they actually listen to what I say – which is really cool!”

A psychology major, she also volunteers as an ambassador for the College of Fine Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. And she serves on the e-board of the Student Government Association.

Club Bonus: “You’ll make friends and connections with faculty and staff. You’ll learn their stories, and that will help you figure out your path,” she says. “Now I plan to go into higher education, working in student activities or student conduct.”

Image by K. Webster

Chris Romano loves music – and he knew that he wanted to work at 91.5 FM WUML, Lowell before he even set foot on campus as a freshman electrical engineering major. 

A friend of his mom’s had been a DJ here back in the ‘70s and raved about meeting musicians like Frank Zappa when they performed on campus.

So Romano sought out WUML – “Where Underground Music Lives” – at the club fair and joined right away. He interned on a popular show, “Left of the Dial,” during his first semester, then started his own shows, “The Graveyard Shift” and “Noise @ Nine.”

Now he’s co-general manager of the station, and he’s done it all – interviewed and promoted musicians, hosted live shows and gone to concerts in and around Boston to photograph his favorite artists. He also began writing about music and campus news for the student newspaper, The Connector, and then switched his major to English with a concentration in journalism and professional writing.

“Two weeks into freshman year, I said, ‘I want to run this station’ – and here I am,” he says. “I put everything I have into making this place run. It’s taught me better time management. It showed me that you can put most of your time into something you love and still do well in your classes.”

Club Bonus: “We have a space that’s just for students – and that’s important.”

Image by K. Webster

When Carla Lima was still a junior at Chelmsford High School, older friends in the university’s Christian Student Fellowship began inviting her to events on campus.

The group was “100 percent a factor” in her decision to attend UMass Lowell, she says.

“I saw that in terms of their faith, they grew more – not because they had to, but because they wanted to,” Lima says. “I saw how they were super-excited to be a part of the group.”

As a commuter, she says joining the fellowship was key to making friends on campus. She’s met students in many different majors and from all kinds of backgrounds because the nondenominational group is diverse and welcoming, she says. 

“We’ve got students who are Haitian, Dominican, African-American, Brazilian and white,” says the public health major. “We’ve had Muslims come to our meetings to see what it’s about, because we can all learn from each other.”

Club Bonus: “I’ve learned to be really good at communicating. I’ve also learned how to listen and not just plow through.”

Image by Dominic DiPalermo

As a first-year student, clinical lab sciences major Megan O’Brien chose to live in H.E.A.L.L., a living-learning community for all health sciences majors.

She made lots of friends, but most were in the nursing program. So she joined the Clinical Lab Sciences Club to meet other students in her major and find “study buddies,” she says.

“I liked it a lot. The upperclassmen told us all the things you really need to know to get through your courses and practicums,” she says.

The club is also a great way to get to know faculty, who are invited to speak at events, she says. And the communication is two-way: Students can let professors know when they are struggling with a particular course and need more specialized tutoring or study sessions.

O’Brien says her involvement has helped her grow personally and professionally.

“I think it really helps you come out of your shell and be a better version of yourself,” she says. “You learn how to talk to people and how to be more confident in what you’re saying. And it’s super-fun!”

Club Bonus: “You work closely with professors, which is really good for reference letters.”

At Lowell High School, Kara Danas danced and sang in the show choir. 

But there’s no show choir here, so she moved into the Living Allegro Living-Learning Community for music lovers. And at the club fair, she signed up for Fermata Nowhere, a women’s a cappella singing group, and ProtoHype, an urban dance team that’s a club sport. 

“I learned about urban dance at UMass Lowell,” she says. “I was thrown into a completely different genre, but I loved it because it’s a really loving and passionate community.”

Now a senior, Danas is captain of ProtoHype, which competes around the region and hosts friendly competitions for other college and community dance crews. The club also hosts an annual showcase in Durgin Hall, “Protocol,” that draws more than 20 college teams from around the Northeast.

This summer, Danas, an English literature major, is working part-time in the GEAR UP and TRIO college prep programs for Lowell High School students and part-time for Teen BLOCK at Lowell Community Health Center, which includes a dance group. Some of those dancers are graduating, coming to UML and joining Danas’ dance crew, she says.

She gives all the kids she works with the same advice: When you get to college, get involved right away.

“Because clubs and teams, that’s where you form a really solid friend group, where you can be comfortable with who you are, be accepted – and have space for fun,” she says.

Club Sport Bonus: “It’s really helped me academically, because I have something to look forward to and work hard toward. It’s also good exercise!”