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No matter where you are in your college journey, whether that's just arriving on campus or heading into your final year, the student organization involvement fair has something for you.

With , opportunities to get involved at the ºÚÁÏÃÅ are nearly endless. Open to all students, this year's event will be held from 3 to 5 p.m. on Sept. 7 in the Community Commons.

Here are a few ways, from fellow students who have been there before, that you can make the most of the student involvement fair.

Don't forget the essentials

Here are a few things you might consider having with you at the student involvement fair:

• A water bottle – You'll be talking to a lot of different club members learning about what they do and how you can join, so hydration is key.
• A snack – Meeting new people can work up an appetite.
• A tote bag or backpack – You'll likely collect flyers or free swag from clubs.
• Comfortable shoes – You might be standing for a while.
• A small notebook or your phone – Jot down names of clubs, meeting times, or people you talked to, so you don't forget later.
• An open mind – Be ready to explore clubs you might not have considered before.

Find your why

When you think about what you would like to get out of the involvement fair, what initially comes to mind? Are you looking to make friends, find creative ways to get outdoors, or have new experiences? Whatever your answer, even if you're not totally sure you have one, it's a great start to spend some time thinking about it.

That kind of thinking helped senior Mattie Embrey when she first attended the involvement fair. Embrey knows that it can be overwhelming to walk into a room with dozens of tables and not know where to start, but she found the experience to be "really, really useful" when she first arrived on campus four years ago.

"I knew that I wanted to at least join something, and I remember that nervousness, that anxiety kind of turned more toward excitement the more I talked to people," Embrey recalls.

Now Embrey is involved in the University's Programming Board (DUPB) and last year, she was co-chair of Mainstage, a committee that plans all the on-campus music events like Battle of the Bands and MusicFest.

"Being able to have everything concentrated in one place where you can see what there is to see, talk to the people who are involved, get an idea of not just what you're interested in, but what everybody else in the school is interested in is a helpful way to gauge the campus environment," Embrey says.

When deciding which groups to talk to, one piece of advice Embrey would give is to talk to as many groups as you can—you'll never know what you might come across.

Ynosh Ilagan learned that firsthand. The senior never expected to join math club before attending the student involvement fair. Now, he is also involved with DUPB, the Asian Student Alliance, and E-STEM, and serves as Mainstage's co-chair.

Ilagan says it was "a bit daunting" for him to go on his own to the fair, so he recommends going with friends if possible—especially because it allows you to talk about your experiences with someone who was also there.

"Definitely check it out and come into it with the mindset that you're going to have fun and meet people," Ilagan says.