Making friends and developing a sense of community can be especially challenging, particularly for students who feel alienated on our commuter campus. The events hosted by UFV Hub Club, led by club president Lucy Park, a fourth-year communications student, have become a crowd favourite for students eager to make new friends, connect with others, and engage in fun, inclusive events.
The Hub Club was founded during the COVID-19 pandemic by Aaron Sandhu — the club’s current advisor — and Andrew Vilan, the former club president, in response to UFV’s diminishing social involvement, seeking to address the social isolation many students experienced during lockdowns. According to Park, “when it was created… people were not coming out [to] the events because of COVID. People were staying home.” Since its formation, the club has continued encouraging students to attend events even if they don’t have friends to go with them or feel uncomfortable going alone. “We want to be the hub of UFV, where everyone can come,” Park emphasizes. “I personally find that [UFV] events are for people to come out as a friend group or with friends… So we are trying our best to have a space where students can come out and meet new people [and] collaborate.”
The Hub Club organizes events that are easily accessible to students and open to all. They recently organized a PNE Fright Nights event, where a number of students visited Playland. Park explained how Fright Night perfectly captured the friendly environment of the club. “We carpooled to Vancouver, because a lot of people don’t really have a way to get there, and our first goal is for people to… have a way to get to our event and be comfortable with us. We stayed as a group… club members carpooled together, enjoyed rides, and bonded over meals,” said Park. She further explained, “A couple of people DM’d us being like, ‘Oh, I’m a little nervous that I don’t have any friends to come [with] to this, but I would really like to go to. And I’m like, ‘yeah, that’s what we’re here for.’”
The pumpkin patch trip, which was a favourite last year, was back again for 2024. It offered students a chance to socialize while taking in festive fall feels. The Hub Club is also planning to have a tote bag painting event in November where you can paint totes and take them home with you. All the necessary supplies will be provided alongside music, food, and a lively atmosphere to encourage you to join in and have fun.
In addition to hosting events, the club also provides opportunities for students to volunteer or become part of the executive team. Due to the recent addition of 11 executive members, future events are anticipated to increase even further in scale and influence. “All of our members who will be there hosting the event are super nice, super friendly, [and] always open to meet new people,” added Park. Moreover, she called out students who are passionate about photography, saying, “We’re actually looking for a photographer for our team.”
With her graduation approaching, Park is hoping that Hub Club’s events will continue to be successful after she leaves. “I’m hoping to see a lot of annual events happening again, even when I’m not there… [like] the Cultus Lake event.” Park is also trying to plan an event with The Aroma Bistro, a local pub in Abbotsford, for a “post-exam celebration” before her graduation. She sees it as a much-awaited night out where students can relax, dance, and spend quality time making new connections. “What they’re looking for is for students to come and hang out, and what I’m looking for is a space for my students to go out. So it’s a perfect combination,” she said. “It will be like an after exam party… where everyone can just go out, have a drink or have food — just a socializing event,” Park added.
Whether you’re a first-year student trying to make new friends, a fourth-year student searching for something new, or just someone who wants to hangout and socialize, Hub Club events are open to all.
Hello, I’m Gauri Sethi, a passionate staff writer at the Cascade responsible for writing content that resonates with the masses. Currently, I am pursuing business administration, but deep down, I am a person who loves expressing herself through writing.
