I’ve been super lucky throughout my Northwestern experience to be a part of several amazing student groups. I’ve met some of my best friends through these groups, whether related to my academic interests or simply something I do for fun. As a member of the Northwestern Undertones, a co-ed cappella group on campus, I met some of my roommates and best friends alike, all of whom are amazing artists and form my on-campus family. In the Happiness Club I was able to meet a huge number of easygoing and fun-loving students from all sorts of academic interests across campus. And, in starting my own student group, I was able to hone in on my niche interests and contribute yet another opportunity to the over 500 student groups already active on campus. Of course, as a Northwestern student, balance is very important, and I often find myself thinking of countless student groups that I wish I’d had time to try during my experience on campus.

The Sailing Team is something that I can’t help but feel awestruck about, given that they’re a super successful club sport on campus, but remarkably enough, experience isn’t required to join this group. If you walk around the Lakefill or down the beach lining our new Segal Visitors Center and Music and Communications Building, you’ll often see them out there on the water. The recently renovated Sailing Center is accessible to all students, and it rents out not only sailboats but kayaks, paddleboards, you-name-it. (Pro tip: great activity for an outdoorsy date!) But watching this team do what they do is a first-hand look at a mind-boggling combination of serious skill, dedication, family, and fun.

I should be clear that I do not know how to sail, but that I still would love to be a part of this community. They’re outside on the beautiful lake, they teach new members what they need to know after they recruit in the fall, and on top of it all, they’re having a blast both on the water and off of it. They have fundraisers to raise money for traveling to competitions, and, perhaps most excitingly of all for those students who are not so nautically inclined, they do something called Sail with a Sailor. In spring quarter, once the snow is all melted and the beach is at its nicest, any student who feels the way I do about the sailing team can head out to the beach and go for a ride in a sailboat with one of the team members- so, even if you can’t quite see yourself captaining a boat on a regular basis, there’s still that awesome chance to go out and take advantage of what this school’s location, facilities, and students have to offer. Anyone who thinks cats don’t like water obviously hasn’t checked out these Wildcats!

–Veronique Filloux