Nicole Kowalewski /Nevada Sagebrush
Russell Richardson, director of clubs and organizations (fourth from right), poses with his staff during Friday’s Club Fair. Those looking to get involved can find more information at Nevadaasun.com under the “Get Involved!” tab.

By Tyler Hersko

If you weren’t at The Quad last Friday, then you missed the opportunity of a lifetime.

No, I’m not talking about the free BoDawgs and cotton candy, although missing that would’ve been a real shame too. Instead, I am referring to the University of Nevada, Reno’s Club Fair, a gathering and recruitment opportunity for the campus’ student-run clubs and organizations.

Whether your interests lie in service groups, political activism, academia, Greek life, student publications or just about anything else, chances are there is a club or organization for you. And if there isn’t, you can always make your own.

There are a particular handful of students whose primary jobs are to make the university’s clubs and organizations possible. Prior to Friday’s Club Fair, I sat down with Russell Richardson, the new director of UNR’s clubs and organizations, to discuss the state of the campus’ extracurricular activities, future plans for student engagement and potential challenges.

As a director, Richardson oversees the campus’ six club commissioners, who in turn provide advice, training and support for the university’s various student-run organizations. Richardson spent two years working as a club commissioner before becoming the university’s director of clubs and organizations. During his time at UNR, Richardson has noticed a growing interest in student involvement around campus.

“I do feel like there is a shift within clubs and organizations,” Richardson said. “We’re getting club leaders who are taking their position more seriously [and] make a difference within their organization.”

In order to further promote the growth of clubs and organizations, Richardson plans on hosting a number of educational events for club members and leaders, teaching skills such as budget management and recruiting methods.

The first of these events, titled iLeadNevada, will be hosted in the Joe Crowley Student Union Saturday at 10 a.m.

While effective club management is important, it doesn’t do much good if there are no club members to manage. With that in mind, Richardson has spent much of his time working to increase awareness for the university’s clubs and organizations.

“This year we really tried to get our department out to the welcome week events,” Richardson said. “[We’re] trying to make an appearance wherever we can. We’re usually right next to the action and…during those tabling events we’ve handed out hundreds of fliers, doing everything we can.”

Richardson noted that freshmen play a critical role in the vitality of clubs and organizations. Richardson spent much of his summer on campus and noticed that during orientations, many incoming freshman expressed an interest in clubs and organizations.

“Just through this orientation session over the summer, we’ve seen more incoming students actively asking questions,” Richardson said. “Each freshman class, they get more excited [and want to] get more involved.”

According to Richardson, the biggest roadblock student engagement faces is students not being informed about the opportunities available on campus.

The aforementioned tabling and information sessions hosted by Richardson and his commissioners were intended to promote awareness and help get students more involved with campus life. Although Richardson noted that club awareness was an ongoing issue that would unlikely disappear entirely, he expressed confidence in the campus’ student-run organizations, reiterating that student participation has been steadily improving over the years.

“If all students were informed of where they could find these resources I think every student would at least give clubs and orgs another glance,” he said. “It’s never too late to get involved. There’s always a group for you, you just have to find your niche.”

Tyler Hersko can be reached at thersko@sagebrush.unr.edu.