The involvement fair is a wonderful congregation of organizations all nestled in an environment filled with hope, excitement, and so many handouts you won’t know what to do with yourself. Whether it’s your first time or your fourth time, it can still get quite overwhelming. For four jam packed days, every club and organization under the sun will be on display in the HUB for you to explore and learn.

Intimidating as it may be, the involvement fair is the best opportunity to get yourself involved at Penn State, and potentially make friends that will last a lifetime. That being said, in order to take full advantage of everything it has to offer, we’ve provided some tips to help mitigate the chaos.

Take Your Time 

Just because the fair has so much to offer doesn’t mean you need to race through. Take your time, stop at booths that peak your interest, and don’t leave any stone unturned. It’s easier to find a club at the involvement fair than to chase them down later in the year. By taking your time, you will be sure to see all that Penn State clubs have to offer, and to guarantee that you take full advantage of any interesting opportunities.

Hold Onto Flyers

At almost every booth you visit, you will be given the chance to take a flyer — hopefully accompanied with a free pen or piece of candy. Although these flyers can seem pointless, they actually can come in handy. Many flyers include dates of meetings and contact information of executives within that specific club. In the case listserv glitches and you don’t receive the clubs’ weekly emails, the flyers are great to reference to ensure you don’t miss a first meeting or feel unsure on who to contact.

Brave It Solo

While the crutch of having a friend brave the masses with you is comforting, it can also be equally as much of a handicap. The purpose of the involvement fair is for you to pursue your interests, not your best friends. By going alone you are more likely to try new things, join a variety of different organizations, and meet new people.

Look At The Schedule 

It’s important to note that not every day at the involvement fair is like the one that preceded it. Every day different clubs and organizations are going to be represented at the HUB, so it’s crucial to pay attention to the schedule. This ensures that you won’t waste your time on a day with organizations that don’t interest you, but also guarantees that you won’t miss important details like signing up for IM sports on the day that they’re present.

Listserv Like Crazy

Rarely will you approach a booth and sign up for something without being asked for your email. This is a good thing considering there is a high probability that you will forget every place you visited throughout the day. That’s where your best friend Listserv comes in handy. It will remind you exactly where you visited help you broaden your horizons while here at Penn State. Just be sure to unsubscribe to the ones that you aren’t genuinely interested in, or your webmail will become a desolate wasteland.

Have An Open Mind

Sign up for anything and everything that catches your eye. You never know what could happen from simply talking to a person at a booth about a shared interest. The more open you are to everything, the less stressful it will be, and the more you will enjoy yourself.

GO!

Seriously, go. An opportunity like this only comes around once a year.