After persevering through COVID and having to pause regular activities, the Adventure Club at NAIT is back in action and more determined than ever. With an array of exciting events planned for the future, this club is a must-join for those seeking to meet new people while exploring a diverse range of experiences, from outdoor adventures to engaging group activities, during their time in school.
The club’s goal, as stated on their Ooks Life page, is to make it easier to find friends by organizing group events to try “new hobbies, new foods, new locations,” with a focus on outdoor activities. To learn more about the club, the Nugget visited their recent Club At The Pub event to chat with Katy Golby, the Adventure Club’s Vice President of Communications.
According to Golby, the Adventure Club’s mission is simple: “If you want to do something and don’t have a group to do it with, that’s where we come in.” To help facilitate this mission, four new executives have been brought on board to organize events, based on suggestions from members. These events are designed to be low-cost, ensuring accessibility for all interested students, while also offering unforgettable experiences with a focus on the outdoors and new food experiences.
Originally established three years ago, the Adventure Club was created by Braden Richards to go hiking and hang out with a cool group of people – until COVID-19 brought in-person activities to a halt. Several executive members also graduated from their programs at NAIT, creating another significant challenge with the club’s continuation. Against the odds, Richards managed to hold things together, and the Adventure Club began to rebuild itself through a series of inclusive and unique events. With everything opening up and in-person events being allowed again, the Holiday Hot Pot in December and their Chickakoo hiking trip in February were particularly successful, swelling club membership from 15 to 60 students.
Their passion and persistence through challenges earned them the Conqueror Award at NAITSA’s 2023 Awards Night. According to NAITSA, the award is given to “the club that overcame the most challenges to truly embrace change and showed the most improvement throughout the year.”
Currently, the club meets once a month, but Golby said they might increase the frequency of events to twice per month in the upcoming fall term. The plan is to increase the variety and size of events to include things like Rope Quest, escape rooms, Laser Quest and more hiking and food events.
In the meantime though, they have some summer events in the works, the main one being a potential camping and hiking trip for NAIT students. Be sure to follow their Instagram, @adventureclubatnait, to stay updated. Students interested in joining the Adventure Club can check out their Ooks Life page or join their Discord.. As Golby puts it best, if you want to join a group of “adventurish people” and go to some cool events, consider becoming an Adventure Club member.
