FALCONCAST: Clubs & Comradery

On today’s episode of the FalconCast, our hosts Alexander Maggio and Logan Corrado interview Fitchburg State University student Dylan Mercier (he/him) and find out how to make college life easier by participating in the multitude of clubs and organizations offered on the Fitchburg State campus.  Dyan gives us a look into what made him interested in joining these clubs and the upside of participating in campus life. 

Dylan is a freshman at Fitchburg State University majoring in Biology with a health sciences concentration.  When not in class or studying, Dylan has found comradery in the Biology Club, the Smash Bros Club, and the Pokemon Club.

Thank you for listening to the FalconCast!

This episode was produced by Logan Corrado and Alexander Maggio as a part of the Spring 2023 Podcasting class at Fitchburg State University.

Episode transcript available here.

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Transcript

(Electronic music begins)

ALEXANDER (Host): Welcome to FalconCast. The podcast that dives into the lives of Fitchburg State students and the ways they navigate through college. I'm your host, Alexander Maggio. In today's episode, we sat down with a freshman who has managed to find his way through college by partaking in different clubs and organizations. Dylan Mercier is a biology major involved in the Smash Bros Club, The Pokemon Club, and the Biology Club here at Fitchburg State.

(Electronic music fades)

LOGAN: All right. So can you start off by stating your name and what year you are in and what your major is?

DYLAN: All right. Well, my name is Dylan. My major is biology with a health science concentration. And as of right now, I'm currently in the Pokemon Club and the Smash Bros Club, and also the biology club.

(Alexander interjects)

ALEXANDER: It's worth noting that coming into this interview, we expected to talk to Dylan only about the Smash Bros Club However, we then learned that he was involved in two other clubs on the Fitchburg State campus.

(Back to interview)

LOGAN: Could you tell me a little bit about the Smash Club and the Pokemon Club? You know, tell me what it is, what you guys do in the club. Like, what's it all about? 

DYLAN: All right. So I've only been to the Smash Bros Club once so far, a couple of weeks back, I think. When we were there we kind of just chilled out and played Smash Bros. The Pokemon Club, we do a lot of things in there. Of course, everything's centered around Pokemon. As of lately, These past couple of weeks we've been, you know, we've been voting on our favorite Pokemon from different regions.

DYLAN: What we do is we choose a region and then we vote on the Pokemon from that region.

LOGAN: So how would you say with your involvement in the Smash Club and the Pokemon Club, how do you feel that's helped get by and be able to, you know, kind of ease the stress and make things more easier to go through college?

DYLAN: Well, it helps me bond with other people over a topic that we all like, like Pokemon, for example, and it kind of gives us well, it gives me a familiar face to see around campus. Like all the people in the Pokemon Club, every time I walk by them, we kind of say hi to each other for a little bit. And the Smash Club, like I said, the kids in that club seem pretty cool. I think I'd like to get to know them a bit more, but as of right now, I don't really know them, so I'll have to work on that.

(Alexander interjects)

ALEXANDER: We should also note that at the time of this recording, Dylan had only been to one meeting of the Smash Bros club. However, we learned what made him interested in the club and what he found to be beneficial as a member of the club.

(Back to interview)

LOGAN: So what appealed you and your interest for the Smash Club? Have you played the games before or just have been very interested in the games and found this club as a way to make your way in and talk about the game?

DYLAN: OK, well, actually, I think before I joined the Smash Club, I actually like stayed away from Smash Bros for several years because like the community was kind of wild and put me off a little bit, but I decided to like lighten up a bit, I mean a little and come out of my box a bit more during Rock the Lounge last semester, I saw some people playing Smash Bros and I said, OK, maybe I can get into this more.

DYLAN: So I picked up one of the controllers and I tried my best and of course I wasn't very good, but I actually still had fun and I said, Oh, wow, this game is actually pretty fun. So I decided to get into it a little bit more and join the Smash Club because again and again I also thought it would be a good opportunity to meet new people.

LOGAN: I don't know if you've mentioned this Biology Club. What are you learning from that and how is it? How do you think it is appealing to you and learn about biology?

DYLAN: Yeah, I did mention Biology Club a little bit earlier and I decided to join it this semester because I said, What the heck, I'll join an extra club and I'm a biology major already, so it kind of works out in that way. As of right now, we've kind of only had one meeting. We meet like every other Tuesday, I believe.

DYLAN: So we haven't really gone over much just yet. We've talked about things like, making certain science projects in the clubs, though, and even going on a trip to the art museum sometime in April. And also I remember there was this one event you could attend with the club that involves like cleaning up a certain area near the campus.

LOGAN: What do you think is your best advice for someone going, about to be going into college? What would you say could help them get through college that would make their life so much more easier?

DYLAN: Well, you should definitely ask for help when you need it, especially in any class you're having trouble with. Everyone's happy to help; the teachers, the tutors, you name it. You could even get other students to help you if you want it. And if you want to maybe get to know people better, then you should definitely join clubs here because that has helped me.

LOGAN: So now, now that we've gone over all this and your struggles, having to adapt to the college life, all of that in general, what do you think is your major what we're calling it is a hack, your college hack, where you found a way to, like a loophole or shortcut that could end up help, that ended up helping you be able to ride through college very smoothly?

DYLAN: Well, I don't know if I would call this a hack per se, but definitely asking for help whenever I need it. I tend to ask, like, a lot of questions. I don't, I hope like I sometimes I fear that I'm annoying because I ask so many to the teachers. But again, they're always willing to help you whenever you need it. So because I ask so many questions, I end up like thoroughly understanding what I'm doing. And that helps me get good grades and, you know, stay in college.

(Electronic music begins)

ALEXANDER: And that wraps up our time for today's episode. I would like to thank Dylan for coming on to the podcast and participating in the interview. I would also like to thank Logan Corado for interviewing our guest. This is Alexander Maggio, signing off.

(Electronic music fades out)