Why You Should Make Sure to Stop by Gobblerfest

As awesome as Virginia Tech is, joining a large college can be overwhelming.  Maybe you weren’t prepared for that chemistry class held in Hahn’s big lecture hall with three hundred other students.  Maybe having to write your student ID on the top of your tests makes you feel like as far as the school is concerned, your entire being is summed up in a number.

If the first week of school has you feeling like a little fish thrust into the big blue, fear not.  Virginia Tech is very welcoming, and the best way to feel right at home is to find your niche in the community.  But how do you find that niche in such a big school?

It’s so easy that it only takes one word to sum it up. Gobblerfest.

For new students, one of the best resources Virginia Tech has to offer in the first few weeks of school is Gobblerfest.  Since 2008, Gobblerfest has acted as a welcoming festival for students, faculty, and people of the Blacksburg community.  Here you’ll find a fun and relaxed environment to meet all sorts of people and organizations, eat free food, play games, and socialize with new people.

One of the best parts of Gobblerfest is finding clubs to join that really interest you.  With over two hundred booths featuring student organizations, businesses, and non-profit organizations, you might not even know where to begin.  However, here within lies the beauty.  There’s no pressure, so you’re free to mosey around and see what captures your interest.  Pet the dogs near the Pre-Veterinary Medical Association booth.  Start a conversation with the Philosophy Club.  Gawk at the giant metal hokie bird towering over you.  Check out the Greek community.  Hug a furry.  Just have fun.

Feel free to join as many listservs (email subscriptions) as you want, but try not to go overboard.  From both professor suggestions and personal experience, I suggest that in the long run, you stick it out with two organizations: one that has to do with your major and one for fun.  Joining a club for your major is a great way to not only socialize with professors and students you’ll be seeing through your college career, but you’ll find out about great opportunities and events you might not have known about otherwise.  Then when you’re feeling burnt out from classes and ready to scream at your computer, you have your fun club to de-stress and socialize.  Of course, it might take a while to find the clubs right for you, so don’t be afraid to go to the introductory meetings.  The clubs know not to expect everyone who shows up to the first meeting to stay forever, so this is a great time for you to get a feel for things before making a commitment.  Then once you have an idea what clubs you like, you can start becoming more involved.  Who knows?  Maybe you’ll even become an officer. 

Even when you aren’t looking for organizations to join, Gobblerfest can still be a lot of fun.  Between the live music, the pep rally, and other scheduled events, there should be plenty to do.

So, in conclusion, you should stop by the drillfield on September 6th between 4pm and 8pm.  Gobblerfest is a great opportunity and you should totally get your tail feathers down there for the festivities.