By Maxwell Thorpe

On Thursday, August 29^th, 2019, SPC Tarpon Springs campus held its annual club rush in “The Quad”. The club rush is an opportunity for clubs and programs to promote themselves to the students enrolled at SPC Tarpon Springs. More than twenty clubs and programs were represented that afternoon. The wide variety of clubs and free food led to a large turnout of students, who were able to gather lots of information.  The club rush took place in a large grassy area in the center of campus.  The various clubs and programs lined the outer perimeter of the grass, and the center was an area of tables and chairs where students could eat and socialize.

What seemed to bring in the most students to the club rush was the free food that was being given out. There was a steady group of students located at the Student Life and Leadership table, who were giving out free sandwiches and other foods for SPC students. All students had to do was wait in line and show the staff who were in charge of giving out the food their SPC ID to prove they were SPC students. “I’m just here for some free food,” said an SPC student as he waited in line at the Student Life and Leadership club table. The free food was clearly a big hit and created a social atmosphere at the event. However, the clubs on campus are designed to do more than give students social opportunities.

Two additional benefits for the SPC students that came out to the club rush was the opportunity to register to vote as well as inquire about the different options of paying for college such as student loans, financial aid and scholarships. The League of Women Voters of the North Pinellas Country had representatives to help SPC students register to vote in the upcoming elections, and Wells Fargo sent two of their experts to answer students financially based questions.

The variety of club options give SPC students the opportunity to find a club(s) best fit for them. SPC does a great job offering so many interesting clubs for their students. The diversity of the clubs represented everything from religion (InterVarsity Christian, Catholic Fellowship), and academic programs (Engineering, Manufacturing, and Building Arts) to hobbies (Photography, Gaming) and student identity (Latino, LGBQT). “I didn’t expect such a wide variety of clubs, it’s very exciting!” said one student after walking around The Quad.

One program different from the others is the Military and Veterans’ Services group. It serves as a valuable resource to SPC, as more than 2,000 military students and veterans have been or are a part of this program. SPC has four Veterans services student support centers located at Tarpons Springs, Seminole, Clearwater and St. Petersburg/Gibbs campus (for more information visit  www.spcollege.edu/sva ).

SPC clubs and programs do their best to schedule their meetings at different times so students can join as many clubs as they can. Most of the clubs meet weekly or bi-weekly. Some clubs meet much more frequently (the gaming club meets daily in the student center), while others only have a few times scheduled to meet this semester (Turning Point U.S.A).

Since SPC has little college life after hours, these clubs and programs serve as a great way to become more involved with the school and campus and meet people with similar interest. One SPC student said, “I’m excited to see the clubs on campus, and hopefully meet some new people!”