Many students decide to come to Northern Essex Community College for great programs, and affordable tuition. What they might not realize is that NECC is also a great place to form connections and bonds that can last a lifetime. NECC has a wide variety of extracurricular clubs and interest groups that are available for all students to join. Students are also able to start their own group very easily with the help of the Student Life department.

There are two categories of interest groups students can start -- one is an official NECC club, and the other is a Social Circle. Clubs require a little more paperwork, with students having to fill out a constitution, elect board members, and consistenlyt work with Student Life and the Student Government Association. But it’s all worth it if starting a club is what you’re passionate about. NECC clubs come with a set budget, which allows them to plan events on campus. This also gives them the flexibility to plan events off campus as well, that can help represent their club and Northern Essex. They also require roles that help students develop their leadership skills, and give them something extra to put on their resumes. 

Club leaders are recognized at events such as Awards Convocation to celebrate what they add to campus life.

Clubs are a great formal way to contribute to NECC and create spaces for students to come together under similar interests. But sometimes the process is too rigorous for what students are looking to accomplish. 

Sometimes people just want to get together and talk about something they’re all passionate about. This is where Social Circles come in.

Brianna DiPalermo, Assistant Coordinator of Student Life, saw that some students don’t want to go through all the paperwork to make an official club. 

Sometimes it’s too much for the groups they’re trying to put together. So, Sorensen, along with Jessica Eckstrom, the Director of Student Engagement, created Social Circles.

“Last year at NECC, we had six new student groups apply to start clubs, seeking connection and a place to share their passions. But as I walked them through the process, momentum kept stalling.” Sorensen writes in an email. 

In helping students try and start their clubs, she realized that not everyone  wants to create a formal group. Some people just want a casual way to get together and make connections. Social Circles offers a way to do this, while still giving students access to funding, and ways to advertise their groups to the whole school.

The process is much easier than starting a club. There’s no formal paperworkor constitution needed. Students just need to send in a short application explaining what their group is focusing on and have a meeting with Student Life to go over campus policies and regulations. There also needs to be a point person, someone who can communicate with Student Life to explain the group’s plans and anything they might need. Social Circles are not meantto be exclusive however, they’re not NECC funded cliques, they’re ways to reach out and include all students.

To anyone interested in starting a club or group, but is nervous or not sure how to get started Brianna says, “I can promise you that I’m here to help you...College is such a unique and special time to challenge yourself to step outside of your comfort zone and create the spaces where you wish to belong. Chances are, someone else in your class or in the hallways is waitingfor someone else to make the first move. Your people are out there; let me help you find them!”

Already this early into the semester, Social Circles have helped several groups get off the ground. The NECC Bible Fellowship is one of them. Started by John Mulcahy, the group meets every Friday in Spurk C108 from 3:30-

5 p.m. Mulcahy wanted to start a Bible study group at NECC for a while, but being a new student, he wanted to get familiar with the campus and student life first. Originally, he tried to start the Bible study as an official club, but theprocess to sign up was very strenuous. After he sent in his constitution and was waiting for approval, student life emailed him with the option to start a Social Circle instead. Mulcahy said that this way of creating a group fits better with what he was trying to accomplish with the Bible study anyway; just a casual hang out with fellow students that have a shared interest.

“I was very fortunate that I was able to be a part of it.” he says, explaining how Social Circles streamlined the whole process to get the Bible study up and running. “Student life makes the process super easy.”

He describes the Bible study group as a place everyone is welcome to come to gather and read and learn more, regardless of backgrounds or religious opinions.

Another group that Social Circle helped get started quickly is the Creative Writing Group. They meet every Tuesday in Spurk C113 from 12-2pm. 

This is another interest group that originally started out trying to become an official club, but decided that a more casual way to get together fit their needs better.Anthony Rota, member of the Creative Writing Group, gave his opinion on what having extracurricular activities like this at NECC meant to him.

“It adds a lot of fun to my life.” he says. “To me joining a club is synonymous with going to school. Joining clubs is absolutely a part of college --- I would say it’s a reason to go to college. You go to classes, you join clubs.”

When asked if he had anything else to add, Rota said: “Join writing club! And you can quote me on that.”

Information is available about clubs and Social Circles on the NECC website at necc.be/clubs or at necc.be/events. Students can also check the bulletin boards across campus, or reach out to the Student Life department at studentlife@necc.mass.edu.