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Colleges today have clubs to suit any and every interest. Better yet, many are created and run by students, and according to Kenneth E. Kelly, Ed.D., vice president of student affairs and dean of students at Utica College (Utica, NY), they can help you foster a sense of community and even choose your Career path. "Students who create their own clubs gain transferable leadership and management experience by learning start-up skills - how to create a viable organization from the ground up," he explains. Just ask Rachi Govil, one of the founders of CHANCE (Creating Healthy Alternatives for a New College Experience) at Rutgers University (New Brunswick, NJ), a club designed to show students they can have fun without Drinking. "My friends and I had seen and experienced the normal pressures of college night life and decided we'd like to start a program at Rutgers that took back the word 'partying,'" Rachi explains. They advertised CHANCE through catchy flyers, but what really got the buzz going was word of mouth. "People would come to our events and then tell their friends about the good time they had," she says. Past good-time CHANCE events included a karaoke night and a smoothie night, sans Alcohol. "We want people to come and see that they can have fun without a drink," Rachi says. In order to begin the club, the four girls approached the activities board at Rutgers, planned a budget, and created a mission statement. From there, they were able to start planning future events and spreading the word. "We started with our base and were able to expand our social circle with people who had similar interests," says Rachi. They even co-sponsored events with other groups. The most important lesson of all? "I've learned that it's always important to have fun and to take time to celebrate the club's successes with those who put in their precious time and resources," Rachi says. Though she graduated this past May, Rachi hopes CHANCE will continue in the future, and has confidence leaving the organization in good, capable hands of underclassmen. Looking back, she admits a start-up is hard, but is definitely worth it. "You're not going to be a big hit right away, but keep at it and have a good time doing it." Amanda Fornecker Heard Around Hilary Duff Most Wanted Hollywood Records This disc offers remixes of previous hits like "So Yesterday," but only three new tunes, including the '80s-flavored "Wake Up." It's tough to stomach another teen star singing about being a teen star, but if you're a Duff devotee, just hit up iTunes for the new stuff and spare yourself the filler: B- Josh Kelley Almost Honest Hollywood Records The boy-next-door collegiate troubadour is still adding tunes to the perfect road trip playlist with his latest rootsy release. He even tries to turn up the funk on a few tracks, but we suggest leaving the sexy swagger to his light-rock counterparts - we don't need a MAROON 6: B The Sun Blame it on the Youth Warner Bros Records The Sun's debut is the first DVD album - that's right, it doesn't come on CD. Pop the DVD in and each of the tunes is accompanied by a music video. Pretty clever, but we wouldn't expect any less from these bespectacled garage rockers, whose noisy pop songs get dirty where WEEZER opts for polish: A Paul D. Rosevear It's HOT! Things "clicked" when four students at Berklee College of Music (Boston, MA) formed a band. One problem - they needed a singer. After adding a hometown friend who was studying at Purdue University (West Lafayette, IN), THE CLICK FIVE was born. "We were trying to balance rehearsing, playing shows, and our schoolwork," says Ethan Mentzer, the band's singer and bass player. The work paid off after Graduation for these mop-topped music majors, who now have a number one song on iTunes, a tour with ASHLEE SIMPSON, and rave reviews for their debut, "Greetings from Imrie House." Surf www.theclickfive.com for more info. P.D.R. "How I Spent My Summer Vacation" About Me: Jonathan Ball, student at Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine (North Grafton, MA), interned with Wildlife Trust and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game capturing Marbled Murrlets (MAMU) - small sea birds that live on the West Coast. The goal of the project was to capture 32 MAMU and attach a small radio transmitter just under the skin in order to track their movements for the rest of the summer. (That's me on the far left.) "On Friday morning at 2 a.m, after working 18 hours a day for three days, we had captured 31 birds and were all pretty excited about reaching our goal so quickly. When the 32nd bird came on board, I started to prep the area for processing the bird as I had done 31 times before. This was when Dr. Scott Newman, the veterinarian in charge of the project, told me instead of assisting, this time I would perform the surgery. The procedure itself is fairly straight-forward and I had watched it 31 times already, but I could still feel my heart rate double as Dr. Newman finished his sentence. While he and another student prepared the bird, I spent time running through the procedure in my head and trying to catch my breath. When everything was ready, I took a deep breath and began. Afterward, one of our crew came up to me and said they were impressed with how steady my hands were during the surgery. I almost laughed out loud because my heart had been pounding so hard the whole time, I was sure it had to be making my hands shake." About Me: Pascha McAlister, student engineer at California Maritime Academy (Vallejo, CA), participated in a summer training cruise to the South Pacific. (I'm in the middle.) "I was on the first watch [of the trip] and we lost a main engine. When that happens the room just gets really, really quiet, and you know something's wrong. I called the chief and assistant engineer and they did some troubleshooting. In this case, it was an electrical problem, so it was really simple for them to fix and they didn't need my help. But I can think of two instances where my crew and I were called back after dinner [to help with a problem] and worked from 8:30 p.m. to 10 or 11 at night. That's sort of the trap of being on a ship - you can't say 'Oh, I can't get there.'" About Me: Stephanie Palladino, junior chemistry major and math minor at the University of Texas (Austin, TX), and counselor at GirlStart, an organization that strives to empower young girls in the fields of math, science, engineering, and technology. "Every Monday started with me and Natalie, my co-counselor, loudly playing pop music on the stereo and enthusiastically welcoming a new group of 26 girls to GirlStart camp. I'm sure most of the girls thought we were slightly crazy because of our energy level and enthusiasm, but by the end of the week, they too would have the same energy during our lessons and activities. Sometimes the lessons were not necessarily about math and science - they just needed to know their opinions matter, that they're important and interesting, that someone cares what they think. Sometimes the girls just needed a friend; sometimes all they were looking for was someone older to talk to and treat them like equals. Working with the girls this summer allowed me to find a part of myself that, with the responsibilities of being a college student, I had lost. They let me see that life isn't as serious and difficult as adults tend to make it. You can just see what a happy activity this was - see my picture at left." Jennifer Merritt Fashion Finals For most of you, finals consist of papers, essays, and Scantron sheets. But at fashion colleges across the country, finals are the culmination of a year spent designing, sewing, and agonizing over presenting your very first collection in front of peers, profs, and the press - that's right, graduating seniors end the year with a runway show. And this isn't just some runway show in a gymnasium. Colleges go all out, booking historic New York buildings, hiring models, and alerting the press. Many colleges even recruit celebrity designers to serve as judges - didn't we mention that on top of preparing for a runway show, students collections are judged for best in show and salability? Talk about dressing for success. Below, a round up of the yards some colleges go to. Moore College of Art and Design (Philadelphia, PA) - Students took color inspirations from Philadelphia artist Mary Cassatt's "Young Woman Trying On a Dress." Fashion Institute of Technology (New York, NY) - Graduates were addressed by L'Oréal CEO Jean Paul Agon. Parsons School of Design (New York, NY) - This year, Parsons honored Saks Fifth Avenue and its Chairman and CEO Fred Wilson at the school's 57th Annual Benefit and Fashion Show. J.M.


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Amanda Fornecker is a staff writer at The CollegeBound Network. Learn more about finding a school that's right for you.

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