Editorial by Collin Cornwell

I want you all to take a couple of minutes of your time. Read this and think about it. Honestly, how busy are you in a day? Regardless of all you get to do is go to class, then work, and study right before bed. Maybe, you are the one providing for your family working hard for everything you have. The point of this article is to examine yourself. How much free time do you have to do something that means a lot to you and that isn’t related to school, work or family?

I would like to go over and stress the important of college involvement and why you should try and find time to join an on-campus organization. Caitlin McAlister wrote in her passage on October 20, 2015 in the Lamar press. Caitlin joined The Show case of Southeast Texas and the marching band. By joining these clubs she was passionate about, she could express herself in many ways and make new likeminded friends.

Personally, I am from Beaumont and I knew a couple of people attending Lamar my freshman year of fall 2016. I attended orientation and had an exciting time discovering what Lamar had to offer for me. The first couple of weeks I felt alone and didn’t do anything, expect go to school and work. Finally, I made the decision that I was not going to make my college years boring like high school and I was going to become active on campus. I became involved by joining the Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity, becoming a member of The Knights of Columbus, and I am signed up to do my first college A.C.T.S retreat.

As Caitlin McAlister stated, “One of the wonderful things about college is that it is the ultimate time in one’s life to express oneself. College life, and the social opportunities that come with it, has something to offer practically everyone. ” This I find to be true, so true that I have opened up and came out of a shell that I have always hidden in. Lamar has nearly two-hundred organization clubs and events that a student can become part of or join.

You shouldn’t join an organization just because you are told to do so. You should join because you want to. With the opportunity of joining, you can make new friends, grow in your faith, give back to the community and Lamar, gain the confidence to become a leader, and grow social skills to help you in the near future. Even if you are busy all of the time clubs tend to meet throughout the week and weekends. Most of them are willing to work with your schedule and would do anything to help so you could become more involved. It doesn’t matter if you can’t make every event or every meeting; if you are willing to make an attempt to do so, you will be set on a new path to better yourself.

The choice is yours. Are you ready to become part of an organization and expand the opportunity given to you by Lamar? You will never know what could happen until you try. If you pick a club that isn’t for you, there are plenty of other organizations to try out. You could try Greek Life, The Texas Academy of Leadership in the Humanities, Religious clubs, Sports Clubs, Band, Cheer, Cardinal Pokemon League, African Student Association, Lamar Veterans Organization, Poetic Souls, LU Design Studio, or even Science Fiction & Fantasy Club, whatever would fit your personality and needs best. Remember that Lamar has over two-hundred active organizations that you can try all you have to do is just pick one.