Wearily, I lug the loaded triboard poster from my car. The blacktop simmers beneath my shoes. It is hot as heck out here! I can’t wait for sweater weather. Looking up, I see others making this same trip up on the walkway, posters in their arms, too. I reckon it’s not their first rodeo. Though we may not know each other, we have the same goal.

Our destination finally comes into view: the upper MAC lobby. The cooler air inside sweeps over me as I find a table for our display. Fellow ORG leaders move like bees, passing out table covers, searching their backpacks for bags of candy. I see the new Level Up presidents standing proudly, the Enactus wheel spinning, Student Visual Arts Society’s gorgeous set-up as always. Student Gov’s Matt Schick waves to me even though I am late. Then, my crew: Lilly arrives first, aiding in the set-up process. Then Makenzie, our new Graphic Designer, and Cornelia, the upcoming Senior Editor who will soon inherit the Scroll posterboard.  

The ORG/Club fair starts not long after that.

As students flood the entryway, we continue to see old friends, new faces, and people who we’ve seen in the hallways before but haven’t ever met. During this one hour, we hope to connect with as much of them as we can.

We are busy, but together.

Listen, I get it. The ORG fair may seem like a place where introvertism comes to die. It’s loud. It’s packed. People intentionally don’t make eye-contact so they can just go to dinner in peace (completely understandable). In the midst of the overwhelming cacophony, though, are groups of people who care about the wellbeing and growth of Cairn students.

In other words, they care about you.

Do you have a group of people here on campus you connect with?

One of my pastors recently said that humans do not grow in isolation. God made us to experience life with the people around us—for mutual survival, yes, but more importantly—mutual joy. When we allow ourselves to grow in a community, especially at an institution that welcomes God’s Presence, something beautiful grows. Kinship. Kindred-spiritness. Joining a club is meant to foster a sense of belonging, often with the addition of doing so with a specific purpose in mind.

Let’s say that you didn’t go to this semsters’ ORG fair, either by choice or accident. Or, perhaps you did attend, but the semester seems too busy to commit to one more thing.

Believe me, we’ve all been there, too. Honestly, there are times when I go to Scroll meetings and I feel other life things weighing heavier in my mind than discussing the next publication with the crew (and I’m in charge of those meetings!). But then I hear about someone else’s week, and we pray about it. Or another member will crack a joke that sends us into soaring laughter. Another has an insightful thought, and suddenly we’re all adding to it–You see?

It is easy to sing the “Busy,” song from Veggietales and keep your head down so you can submit your work on time. Earning the degree is the ultimate reason for being at Cairn, after all. If that goal takes precedence over all others, though– how can we be an effective Christian body? Without encouraging others and being encouraged by others, the type of life you’ve chosen to live for the next three or four years will quickly grow stale.

People need people. It’s how we were made.

So why not join a club, my friend? Why not visit the board outside the University Store and look over the posters? Why not find a group of people who are passionate about something you are too, or something you’d like to know more about? Why not visit, just to see?

These years are busy, busy, busy, but togetherness enriches everything else.

“Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” – Galatians 6:2

Interested? Check out https://cairn.edu/student-life/student-organizations/ to learn more about each individual club, or scan the Club Interest QR code in the Highlands Café!