By: Tanner Adomaitis, Staff Writer
Originally Published February 20, 2024
Saint Vincent College (SVC) has many student-run clubs covering interests from ping pong, to beekeeping, to nursing. At the beginning of every fall semester, students can tour the Involvement Fair (formerly known as the Club Fair) and learn about and sign up for clubs that interest them as well as other aspects of life on campus. Now, on the wall near the Wellness Center in the Carey Student Center, there is the Wall of Clubs where students can see all of the clubs on campus as well as who to contact to get involved with a club no matter the time in the semester.
Gabrielle Bricker, the Graduate Coordinator of Student activities, is in charge of all clubs and works closely with Deanna Wicks in the Campus Life office to run Activities Programming Board (APB) and Orientation events. Bricker graduated in the spring of 2023 after earning a Bachelor of Science in psychology and is now pursuing her master's in counseling education with the goal of being a School Counselor. While earning her undergraduate degree, Bricker was heavily involved with APB and was an Orientation Leader along with several clubs.
Bricker continues the legacy of the Council of Presidents (COP), which is a group of students who are the presidents of their respective clubs, whether they started their own club or are continuing an existing club.
“We have about 60 clubs on campus, give or take a few depending on the semester as they fluctuate. The Council of Presidents is where all of the club presidents come and meet once a month and we go over important information, like Spring Family Weekend, and it is a way for them to collaborate with other clubs,” Bricker said.
Bricker also pioneered the idea for the Wall of Clubs as a way for students to learn about all the opportunities and maybe gain inspiration to start their own club.
“Here in the Campus Life hallway, we always say it’s important to be involved in at least two things,” Bricker said. “Whether that’s a sport and a club or two clubs. We have so many options and ways for students to get involved and sometimes students don’t know that’s the case.”
There are new clubs that rise every semester, but there are also some clubs that go away for a little bit. Bricker encourages students to start their own clubs to fulfill an interest or niche that they don’t feel is represented. By going to the Clubs and Organizations page on the portal,
students can find the New Club Authorization form, fill it out, and slide it under Bricker’s door in the Campus Life hallway to get started.
“It’s a way to find your home here at Saint Vincent and I know that a lot of students feel that they have found a similar passion among people in their club,” Bricker said. “If you don’t see a club that you’re interested in, make a club that you’re interested in. There’s a fast turnaround in how long it takes to make a club.”
Bricker recommends getting involved through clubs, sports, and attending APB events, emphasizing that you don’t have to be a club president to be involved but it is a great way to lead a legacy.
“There’s so many ways and outlets to find your little family here. Being involved is how you make the most of your time in college.”