How I Am Involved On Campus As A First Year Undergraduate Student At UC Irvine

Contributed by UC Irvine student writer Neelansh Khare.

I studied in six different schools from first to 12th grade. Moving around so often, I could barely get involved in any school activities for a long amount of time. That’s why when I came to UCI, I was excited to explore all the different ways I could be involved on-campus for my time here, how I could meet loads of people, and make those long lasting connections that I never had!

These are the ways I’ve become involved in the community here at UCI:

Student Clubs

The Indian Subcontinental Club

One of the first clubs I joined was the Indian Subcontinental Club here on campus. It’s the second largest club on campus, and caters to cultural events related to the Indian subcontinent. I had always wanted to be more involved in cultural identity and felt like I had missed out on that growing up. I applied to be on the board of the club, and was accepted for one of their freshman representative positions! The experience has been great so far from a multitude of perspectives. I’ve been given invaluable experiences on how to run a club, met so many people, gotten to explore my cultural identity, and found a second family amongst the members of our board. We have huge quarterly events, and other minor ones throughout the year and it has been a significant part of my first year at UCI. 

Other clubs I’ve explored

Some of the other clubs I have explored, but never committed to were Zotbotics (the robotics club on campus), and several band and dance clubs. I was extremely involved in robotics during high school, and want to pursue that professionally after college as well. I went to several Zotbotics meetings, but just have not had the time to commit to them yet.

The same goes for the band clubs. I’ve been playing the guitar for over a decade, and wanted to finally join a band now. However, my schedule never allowed for that.

As for dance, I have always wanted to learn how to dance. I wanted to step out of my comfort zone and learn something new here at UCI. Regardless, every club I attempted to join or joined left me with countless friends, and everyone is always extremely welcoming!

Research

Professionally, one of the things I have always wanted to give a shot has been research. I know that I want to go to graduate school, but I have not figured out if I would rather stay in Academia or work in the industry. Exploring research would help answer that question.

The way I intended to get involved with research is through the UROP program here at UCI. The Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program introduces ways to get involved in research as an undergraduate here at UCI and helps you through the process by giving you a mentor, access to exclusive workshops, guides you on how to approach faculty with labs, or apply for a summer research position/grant. I’ve learnt so much from my experience with UROP and would recommend it to any incoming student interested in research!

On Campus Jobs

I currently work two on campus jobs at UCI, and they are a great way to gain some experience while meeting some amazing people who work at UCI! The jobs are super flexible, training is always given, and they’re super accommodating of your schedule as a student. The coworkers you meet there are often other students so it is another opportunity to make friends, and your supervisors are always extremely supportive, friendly, and amazing people.