DePaul College of Computing and Digital Media Club Mixer
DePaul is home to so many amazing clubs, and I think that the College of Computing and Digital Media might take the crown for the best ones (I am definitely not biased as a computer science major). You can find an option for virtually every interest or passion you want to explore, and the club mixer that the college of CDM puts on is a great way to find out more about them and connect with other students who have similar interests!
This event is held in the DePaul Center, which is the university’s main building in the loop. Each year different clubs have tables and send members to talk about their club. Unfortunately, not every club is able to have a table every year, but a good chunk of the clubs in CDM are in attendance and it offers a great opportunity to get connected with people who are in your major or are into the same things you are.
The first club that I want to mention is the Computer Science Society as I have the biggest connection to it. I have been a part of CSS since my freshman year and it has been so amazing. We operate like a lot of the major-oriented clubs on campus, and we offer workshops, career guidance, guest speakers, etc., all relating to computer science. Some of my favorite events we have held have been the coding competitions and group challenge events, we usually have good prizes and it’s cool to see people use the skills they have accumulated in their classes in group and competitive settings. There are similar organizations to CSS for fields like UX design and Data Science. In fact, the DePaul UX Design Association, or DUXA, also had a table at the event and they do a lot of the same things we do, but for UX design.
Next I want to talk about DTV Productions. When you come to DePaul, whether you realize it or not, you will meet a lot of film majors. With an impressive film program you end up with a lot of creative students who want to work together to make films and other projects. Some of this happens away from the university in standalone settings, but there are also groups like DTV Productions within the university that can help facilitate. DTV is a student organization that brings students together to make TV shows. They have members who write, produce, act, work on crew, and a lot of things in between. The other cool thing about this club is that you do not have to be any sort of film or tv major to participate. They have members who are in all sorts of programs, and together have created a really cool and creative environment through their love of filmmaking.
I have talked about some clubs on the computing side, as well as DTV which is one of the examples from the film side, but now I want to bring up another major part of the College of Computing and Digital Media, which is game design. There are a few different clubs centered around games at DePaul, and the program for games is very impressive and highly regarded. The one I want to talk about now is one I actually just found out about at this event, and that I think is particularly cool and unique: DePaul SIGGRAPH. SIGGRAPH is a special interest group (SIG) that is focused on computer graphics and interactive advancements. They are a national group, and DePaul has a student chapter on campus. They are mainly focused on graphical developments in gaming and virtual reality. They are a relatively new group on campus, and they have some particularly cool events coming up with speakers from major game companies. That’s just one example, though. There’s a general student game organization called DeFrag, as well as the esports club and various esports teams. Overall, I have been really impressed by the community for people who love games as well as love making them at DePaul.
I am a staunch supporter of DePaul student organizations. I am also going to reaffirm my statement that those of the College of Computing and Digital Media are the best (definitely not biased). DePaul has such an amazing variety of students, and both the professional development and creative opportunities that these clubs provide are invaluable. I think clubs are something that every single student should at least try, if not become a regular participant in. All of the clubs I mentioned have a presence online and on social media, so please do further research if you were interested in any!
~Jeff