An Otis College Sophomore Shares Five Ways Students Can Be Active and Engaged on Campus

Student clubs, career workshops, and art exhibitions are just a few of the many ways Otis College engenders community among its students.

Whether you’re an incoming first-year or transfer student, or you’ve been at Otis College for a while and just need a quick reminder, below are some of the best ways to get involved with campus life during your time at Otis.

1. Join a Club

Otis is home to many student-run organizations aimed at bringing people together. There are a wide variety of clubs centered around common interests, including the Otis Pony Club (for those who share a love for all things My Little Pony); Art, Dice, & Dragons Club; and the Studio Ghibli Club, to name a few. There are also performance-focused clubs like LARP (which stands for live-action role-playing, where members can play and act as characters); Acting for Animators; and the K-Pop Club, which plans a K-Pop Festival every year (RSVP for this year’s festival on April 25). There are even movement and sports-related clubs like the Otis Walking League and the Volleyball Club. Finally, there are clubs that cater to specific groups within our college community, like Team International Student Outreach (TISO) and Women in Animation. All of these clubs can be found on the student Owl Connect app. 

2. Attend On-Campus Workshops 

As an art and design college, Otis hosts weekly workshops aimed at polishing and improving students skills. Two of the most popular are the Figure Drawing and Ceramics workshops. These are open to everyone, including alumni and community members, opening up avenues for connection with experienced artists across industries like Game and Entertainment Design, Animation, and Fine Arts. These workshops also allow students to meet with teachers from other programs and help them grow skills they can use to improve their craft. 

The Student Learning Center hosts various workshops throughout the academic year aimed at learning creative, academic, and professional development skills, ranging from software-focused workshops on the Adobe Creative Suite and 3D programs to life skills like time management. If there’s a skill you’d like to learn, but for which there’s no upcoming program, you can ask the staff for a one-on-one training session. You can even propose a larger event if it’s something you and a group of students are interested in learning.

3. Participate in I.M.P.A.C.T

I.M.P.A.C.T. (Inclusion, Mindfulness, Professional Development, Academic Excellence, Creative Service, and Transformation) is a community that helps first-year and transfer students adjust to campus life and the wider Los Angeles area. Monthly programs connect members with departments like Career Services, which helps prepare students for their professional careers and to take on student leadership roles.

Many members of I.M.P.A.C.T. go on to become resident assistants and orientation leaders. They often find other on-campus jobs as office aides and peer tutors due to the program putting members in direct contact with those departments. I.M.P.A.C.T.’s programs are open to all members of the Otis community and can be found on the group’s Owl Connect page.

4. Attend a Residence Life Event

For students living in the Residence Hall or Park West apartments off campus, the mixers held by Resident Assistants (RAs) are a great way to get to know your neighbors, both down the hall and across the street. Ranging from movie nights and bracelet-making sessions to larger Halloweek events, Otis RAs build community and create a safe space for all Otis Owls.

5. Exhibitions and Visiting Artist Lectures

As a school dedicated to student professional development, Otis displays the work of its past and current community members. The Bolsky Gallery in the Galef Fine Arts Building holds rotating student exhibitions featuring the work of BFA and MFA Fine Arts students, creating the perfect environment to connect with upperclassmen. 

These exhibitions are often sandwiched by the Otis Visiting Artist Lectures series, during which alumni, other artists, and industry professionals come to talk about their fields of interest and life after graduation. These lectures provide opportunities for interested students to make industry connections, and to meet potential employers and mentors in a low-stress and accessible environment. Announcements and updates about these events are available in the Otis Weekly emails and the events calendar on Otis.edu.

While getting involved can seem daunting, every office at Otis works to make their programs and events as seamless as possible. You can connect with your community and find support throughout all four years of your college career, on- and off-campus. I look forward to seeing you at an event soon!

A sophomore in Illustration, double minoring in Creative Writing and Product Design, Alejandra enjoys music and movies and looks forward to creating her own independent comic book.

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