SEGOVIA – On Thursday night, January 23rd, Campus Life invited Clubs to the second round of their Club Pitch event at the popular bar, El Saxo.
Once again, IE Students found themselves packed into El Saxo. This time however, it wasn’t just one of the many pit stops on a night out, but the focus of the evening for several. Chairs and barstools had been set out as presentations were laid out on a projector screen, and the room was filled with different club members and coordinators waiting to see what the others had brought to the night’s “Club Pitch.”
The session began with a brief and somewhat humorous introduction by a familiar face; Clint Goodrich started by thanking all of the clubs and attendees for coming, for the club members’ self-evident dedication to their extra-curriculars, etc. As he explained, one of the goals of the Club Pitch night, along with Campus Life understanding club priorities, was for clubs to find “synergies” with one another. Clint went on to remind everyone that February would be club election month. He finally asked for clubs to be quick in their presentations, as he had brought his two young children with him, who sat at the back of the bar for the remainder of the event drawing.
First up was Gabi Isa, presenting for the Music Club. As Gabi explained, the club is meant for musicians “of a certain skill level.” That is to say, the club is exclusive to experienced individuals – this is in part because the club provides lessons and classes on the musical arts and helps other clubs and organizations by providing professional music for their events, such as Creativity Day and the upcoming Spring Ball. As Gabi explained, it would be unfair to have beginners compete for or be expected to perform at such high levels for these events. The club is led by Gabi and Gilles de Trazegnies.
For the Debate Club, club leader Cecilie Kristiansen highlighted that their club helps you to “find your voice,” as public speaking is a part of one’s day to day life. She went on to briefly explain how the club does so through its three branches (Formal Debate, Model United Nations, and Social Forum), and some of its previous events, such as the Artillery Academy Debate and Mock MUN on Artificial Intelligence. For the future, Cecilie stated the club has two upcoming MUN conferences it will be attending, in Geneva and in Tokyo, respectively.
Diego Rodriguez and Juana Plana presented for the Cultural Excursion Club. The club proudly provides students with opportunities to explore what Spain has to offer, with cultural sightseeing and outdoor activities. They’ve previously had trips to Andalucía (Sevilla and Cordoba), Cuenca, Salamanca, and many more. The club hopes to be “more outdoorsy” in the future, with events like kayaking and hiking. As for right now, there is the upcoming Badajoz Carnival on February 22nd.
Representing Women in Business, Andrea Lerena Sánchez began by explaining that WIB “provides [for] men and women to meet their maximum potential.” WIB does so by creating and strengthening networking opportunities for its members, in addition to internship and connection experiences. It additionally hosts many events, including “The Formation of the Patriarchy” with Ibrahim Al-Marashi. The club has an upcoming Women in Luxury Dinner this Tuesday, February 11th, at Pasapan – at this time, anyone wanting to go will be placed on a waiting list.
For the Sustainable Development Goals Club, Dawson Shinners and Sofia Kritikopoulos outlined how the SDG club tries to embody and employ the UN’s 2030 Agenda. They’ve done so in numerous ways, including clean-up efforts in the woods near the campus and fundraisers for the Australian wildfires. The club also hopes to launch its main project of aid to a foreign country such as Zambia (location and further details still in the works).
Similarly, the Eco Club – presented by Margarida Serrenho and Maria Nitchtova – spoke about its goals to recreate IE. “We want to make the campus greener and more sustainable.” They’ve begun to do so through events such as the Green Week in Madrid. As they stated, “our goals are not limited to the walls of IE Campus,” implying the club looks to much more in the future. For now though, the club’s goal is to gain a bigger presence on campus.
Presenting for the Law Society, Dalya Droste and Daniel Collins explained how the club provides members with the “relevant skills for tomorrow,” as the club assures members will receive the necessary tools and experiences for successful careers in law. These are expressed through their events, such as “Public Speaking for Lawyers” and “Mental Wellbeing for Lawyers.” Their goal for this year is to focus on partnerships, both with law firms and with IE Clubs.
Dalya also presented with Marta Ruiz for the Dance Club. The club offers Ritmos Latinos, contemporary, and hip hop dancing, along with classes on social dancing and clubbing moves, all while maintaining a safe and non-judgmental environment. Giggling, Dalya stated how she wants to see club members transform from “little caterpillars to butterflies,” embracing confidence in themselves and their abilities. The club is looking to focus on its membership retention and commitment as its semester goal.
The only club scheduled but not in attendance was the Leap Club, which may be understandable given their main event, the 2019 “Maverick” IE Leap Conference, took place last semester. Overall though, while club leaders may not have provided “pitches” per se, they did provide welcomed overviews of their clubs and their upcoming events – so, look forward to more possible “synergies” between the clubs in the future.
