Walk through the Pit on Carolina’s campus and you’ll quickly realize there’s a club out there for any Tar Heel.
From Aug. 25-29, students learned more about some of the nearly 1,000 student groups at the Student Organization Leadership Experience Fest in the Pit. The Well caught up with club leaders there to learn about their groups’ activities and why students should consider joining.
Learn about 12 student organizations from the Tar Heels who know them best.
Carolina Disc Golf
Jasper Tyll (left)
Club description: Carolina Disc Golf offers members the chance to play casually two to three times per week or to compete more seriously against other colleges in tournaments. The group uses the 18-hole course at the Outdoor Education Center.
Why it’s worth joining: “Once you start throwing Frisbees, you get addicted. At the end of the day, you’re just outside in nature having a good time. If I’m going to be hiking, I might as well walk after a Frisbee that I’m throwing.” — Jasper Tyll
Chess Club at Carolina
Naveen Prabhu (center)
Club description: No level of chess expertise is too low or high to join. The club meets twice a week in the Frank Porter Graham Student Union and also uses its funding to compete in tournaments. Other fun events have included a “Beat me, you get $100” challenge in the Pit. “A lot of people came down. Nobody won $100,” said Naveen Prabhu, the club’s president.
Why it’s worth joining: “It gets you thinking about some critical thinking skills. I think it’s one of the best hobbies you can have to unwind. We don’t charge fees or anything. We provide all the stuff.” — Naveen Prabhu
Survivor Carolina
Marcus Coyle (left)
Club description: Fans of the long-running “Survivor” game show know the objective for contestants is to outwit, outplay and outlast the competition. The same goes for Tar Heels participating in Survivor Carolina, a semester-long, on-campus version of the game. Challenges range from tug-of-war to using the BeAM Makerspace to print a jigsaw puzzle. Is the Carolina version just as dramatic as what you see on TV? “If not more,” said Marcus Coyle. “It’s deep because the game is the whole semester. It’s like, ‘Wow, this girl’s been my friend since high school,’ and then you have to vote her off.”
Why it’s worth joining: “It’s a great way to try something new and do something other than just your major and studying. It’s flexible to people’s schedules, so we will only do a challenge when everyone’s available. It’s a nice way to get involved and do something fun for a semester.” — Marcus Coyle
Made4Me UNC
Colin Chen (left)
Club description: The Carolina branch of the national nonprofit Made4Me meets weekly at the MakerSpace in the Robert B. House Undergraduate Library, where they use industrial-strength cardboard to make personalized items and furniture for children with certain disabilities. Examples include a standing device for those with paralysis and specially made pencils for children with wrist mobility issues. In some cases, these types of items can cost hundreds of dollars, said Colin Chen, club president. Made4Me gives their creations to children for free and has partnered with the physical medicine and rehabilitation department at the UNC School of Medicine and local schools.
Why it’s worth joining: “It’s a really easy way to do a lot of good for people. The people who use our services really need it. They cannot get this anywhere else. This is almost necessary for their quality of life. It’s great for pre-med, pre-OT, pre-BME. It’s designing and building. We work directly with the families, which is really cool.” — Colin Chen
Carolina Cars
Violet Worzella (center)
Club description: Meeting at the top of a parking deck wouldn’t make sense for most clubs — but it does for Carolina Cars. These Tar Heels gather once every two weeks to cover a wide variety of automotive topics and activities, from changing your oil and replacing a flat tire to meeting with professional mechanics and watching F1 races. There are also go-kart outings, and the group is hoping to have a movie night this year with a projector atop the parking deck.
Why it’s worth joining: “All of these events are very beginner friendly. They are engaging for the people who have been doing this for a really long time but also very friendly to those who are brand-new to this. I think everybody who’s joined in the past has made some great friends in this club, as well as received some good information they might not have gotten out of it.” — Violet Worzella
Dive In
Abbie Shannon
Club description: These Tar Heels have a straightforward, noble objective: Make sure everyone has the chance to learn the important skill of swimming. On Sundays at Bowman Gray Memorial Pool, you can find members of Dive In providing free 90-minute lessons to children from families who otherwise wouldn’t pursue them because of cost or language barriers. Dive In works with infants up to teenagers, said Abbie Shannon, a community outreach coordinator, and in some cases one-time participants become student volunteers years later.
Why it’s worth joining: “Swimming is a lifesaving skill that a lot of people don’t have the opportunity to learn at a young age. This is just a good opportunity to get involved and teach them lessons and help save lives.” — Abbie Shannon
Perfect Pair
Jack Meyers
Club description: The Carolina chapter of a national nonprofit, Perfect Pair connects students with older adults based on personality and interests to combat what Jack Meyers calls “a really important cause that’s not getting enough attention”: social isolation. Their one-hour weekly visits with one another boost morale for both the students and the elders they’re befriending. “They were just so happy to have connection,” said Meyers, co-vice president of the club.
Why it’s worth joining: “I think there’s a lot to learn from senior residents. Even just looking at your grandparents, what did you learn from them? It’s really grounding. They remind you what’s important beyond those daily little stressors we have. Everyone who sits down and has an hour conversation with a senior resident comes back having learned something and feeling more calm, grounded and peaceful.” — Jack Meyers
Chapel Hill Players
Grace Hable (right)
Club description: Carolina’s oldest improv and sketch comedy club, Chapel Hill Players celebrated three decades with a 30th anniversary show earlier this year that brought back plenty of alumni. The CHiPs practice weekly and have a handful of shows per semester.
Why it’s worth joining: “Why should Tar Heels join? Because they like to laugh. And if they don’t like to laugh, they should learn to laugh. I didn’t have any experience, and I enjoyed the process. I met some of my favorite people in the world. I had a lot of fun. You get public speaking experience.” — Grace Hable
American Sign Language at UNC-Chapel Hill
Haze
Club description: September is Deaf Awareness Month, and there’s an organization at Carolina where “anyone in the silent community — deaf, mute, hard of hearing — can come together, learn and connect.” That description comes from Haze, a longtime ASL@UNC member. The group learns and practices American Sign Language but also explores deaf culture and attends deaf/ASL events around the Triangle. There are also games and occasional movie nights.
Why it’s worth joining: “We let people elect their proficiency. If someone has lower proficiency, we will hard-focus on helping them get the basics. Learning the alphabet, learning the basic survival signs. We make sure no one’s stranded or left behind.” — Haze
Queen in You
Trinity Patterson (center)
Club description: This service organization mentors young women in the areas of professional development, self-esteem, etiquette, scholarship and service. Co-president Trinity Patterson and other club members do this with regular visits to the Boys & Girls Club in Durham, where they lead activities and teach lessons, like line dancing during Black History Month. In the future, there’s an interest in trying to bring the girls they work with to campus. “People may not think of college as something that could be for them in their future,” Patterson said. “Just because your upbringing looked a little different from mine or someone else’s, this could still be your life in the future.”
Why it’s worth joining: “The quote I like to live by is, ‘Service is the rent we pay for life on Earth.’ I think it’s really important to give back to our community, and I think Queen in You does this. I also like to think about the future leaders of tomorrow. I feel like what we’re learning at UNC — our principles, coursework and the things we do on a daily basis — we can take that and instill that into them.” — Trinity Patterson
UNC-Chapel Hill Fly Fishing Club
Clay Grant
Club description: Affiliated with national nonprofit Trout Unlimited, this club casts its lines regularly with day trips to nearby fishing locations and also plans larger excursions, like a possible trip to Brevard later this semester for trout fishing. But it also makes sure to protect the wetlands with a commitment to conservation. Past volunteering efforts have included cleanups at Jordan Lake and even a visit to Asheville for a river cleanup after Hurricane Helene. If you’re on the fence about joining, “it’s super low commitment,” according to Clay Grant, club president.
Why it’s worth joining: “It’s open to all beginners and amateurs or if you’re a veteran of the sport. We’re open to everybody. If you’re not interested in the sport and you want to give back to the community and the environment, we do a lot of sustainability work.” — Clay Grant
Muay Thai Club at Carolina
JT Erle
Club description: If you’re looking for a full-body workout or to strengthen self-defense skills, consider joining Carolina’s Muay Thai club. The national sport of Thailand, Muay Thai uses fists, knees, elbows and shins. Members have varying degrees of interests and skill levels. Those interested in mixed martial arts will get great training out of it, too. “We start from the ground level,” said JT Earle, a club drill instructor. “We’re teaching how to punch and kick from zero. A lot of people walk in with zero experience.”
Why it’s worth joining: “If you’re interested in learning self-defense, come join us. We teach it, and you’ll have a great basis for that. If you’re interested in MMA, Muay Thai is one of the best foundations for mixed martial arts. Or if you’re just looking for a good crew to hang out with and listen to good music and get fit.” — JT Erle
