California State University Monterey Bay kicked off the start of the Spring semester with the breezy but sunny Otter Showcase to spotlight the fantastic clubs and extracurricular activities the campus has to offer.
There was a great turnout of both students and various clubs that can help students start planning for their future, have fun, and learn new things.
“Our club is called AMSA, which is the American Medical Student Association Club, and it actually wasn’t formed here,” said third-year Jackie Estrada. “It’s an actual club that’s run all over the United States that helps students find speakers throughout the semester that can relate to them and their goals.”
The AMSA club not only helps STEM majors, but individuals who are interested in medical school as well, and it gives them a foundation to grow along with opening many doors for them to become the people they want to be in the future.
Other clubs aim to be a chance for students to hang out with people who share the same interests or are looking to learn a new skill.
Fourth-year Robert Huskins was tabling for the chess club. “I hope to create a nice social environment for people to play chess, and also hope we can get a couple of new members to become decent players by the end of the semester.”
Some clubs are trying out new methods to draw in members.
Second-year Kendall Markham is currently trying to draw in new members for the Rotaract Club. “Right now, I’m trying to move others to participate, and one Rotary club offered us a pool party place, and so I was thinking about using that to motivate people to be more involved.”
These extracurricular activities range from helping the community to engaging in new challenging hobbies that help open your eyes to the new possibilities life has to offer.
Fourth-year Anna Stubler is president of CSSMB – a club dedicated to teaching students about web design.
“There were clubs for each concentration in the communication design major except for the web design concentration, so my friend Nicole and I decided that we wanted to make a club … just for people who are interested in web design, app development, and more,” she said.
There are clubs created to pique someone’s interest, but some are made to help others not feel so left out and contribute to their way of learning, especially when it’s towards their major.
This event is a way to broadcast to the students the fun, life-altering clubs there are to choose from, all you have to do is go out and look. These opportunities come with excellent results for anyone willing to see them.
Although COVID-19 has limited some things, it still hasn’t stopped the spotlight that comes with the Otter Showcase and its unique ability to expand one’s skillset.