New students are frequently advised to join clubs on campus; however, the extensive list of student organizations at ASU can be overwhelming. Instead of filtering the list by category, students can consider the specific benefits they seek and narrow their choices.
Speaking with members of these organizations reveals the benefits of having a hobby and the wide array of options available.
Competition
Cube Devils is a competitive Rubik’s Cube-solving club that meets on Thursdays out of Engineering Center A, room 229.
Randy Ngo, the club’s treasurer and undergraduate data science major, was interested in Rubik’s Cubes from a young age, something he now shares with a whole club.
"We all meet up and bring our cubes," Ngo said. "Some of us have larger collections than others, so they'll bring a bunch of different ones that anyone can just pick up and try out. So generally, we just meet up, talk about cubing stuff (and) play around with different puzzles."
Solving a Rubik’s Cube is not a one-and-done task; the goal is to find the most efficient solutions and decrease the time it takes to solve it.
"I really enjoy solving the cube a couple of times and trying to get my average solve time down lower. So it has that aspect of competition. You don't need to go out to a tournament or something in order to scratch that competitive itch," Ngo said.
People who crave competition and want to see their improvement should look for hobbies like Rubik’s Cube solving, where improvements can be readily tracked through time.
Community
Law Capella is an a capella club made entirely of law students. Their music director, Cassie Lewis, a third-year law student, chooses the club’s set list and runs rehearsals.
"We meet usually once a week for two hours, and we rehearse our songs," Lewis said. "During rehearsal, we'll go over each of the parts and make sure everyone's singing it right."
Law Capella gives law students a hobby where their community understands the stress of their program and lives.
"Everything about law school can be really exhausting, and just having a set time that you can focus on something completely unrelated to law, but still with people who understand what it's like to be a law student, I just think it's really good for your mental health," Lewis said.
Law Capella is more than a place to commiserate. It also gives people the opportunity to practice and perform their skills.
"Last year, we performed for a judicial conference, which was really fun," Lewis said. "They really enjoyed it. We sang four songs, and they were like, 'sing more songs.'”
Law Capella only accepts law students, but this club shows the opportunity to find a creative hobby alongside an accepting community within academic pursuits.
Creative engagement
Finally, hobbies allow students to express their love of their existing interests through unique mediums. An example is K-Pop Dance Evolution, a club for learning the dances used in K-Pop music videos.
"I've been into K-pop since I was in like 7th or 8th grade … and then, once you get into K-pop, you learn the dance part of it," said Nikita Anand, the club’s president and a senior studying business law.
The club meets on Fridays at 6 p.m. in the Sun Devil Fitness Center Infinity Studio.
"We'll get to stretches. Then we learn the dance … So choreo usually takes about an hour of our time," Anand said, "The actual song is usually like 30 seconds or 45 seconds, then we do a couple of run-throughs, and then we film."
K-pop fans can expect to learn a lot from this club, as they learn a wide array of songs from different groups, as well as various dance styles with every song.
"A girl group might be more hand-oriented, whereas a boy group might be more foot-oriented," Anand said. "Some implement hip hop, and some implement modern, contemporary. There are so many styles (of dancers) that don't think they can join when they can and become a more well-rounded dancer."
With KoDE, students can take their love for K-pop and turn it into a skill they practice.
"I wanted to be a part of training where I knew that people like K-pop, and we could have that kind of connection," Anand said.
Competition, community, and creative engagement are just some of the benefits students can use when choosing from the large list of options. These clubs are excellent representations of unique opportunities, but there are many more to discover.
Edited by River Graziano, Walker Smith and Grace Copperthite.
Reach the reporter at syramir2@asu.edu and follow @nerdyoso on X.
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