TEC club feature of the month: Yacht Club

Every month, The East Carolinian will highlight a club or organization in the series, for the month of August, Yacht Club was selected.

As the new year commences, clubs at East Carolina University have big plans to encourage students to partake in their events and ECU’s Yacht Club had many events for the Week of Welcome.

Ayanna Williams, senior theater arts major and the President of the Yacht Club, said the club’s Week of Welcome was filled with advertising for the club, social mixers and musical guest performances.

“Yacht Club is an acronym, it stands for Young Artists Chasing High Times,” Williams said. “We were founded in 2012 by four or five black male students, so Young Artists Chasing High Times, basically we’re a marketing, promotions and event planning group, we also do community service and fundraising.”

Each day of the week included a new event such as a field day, game night, sleepover night and a pool party, Williams said, to create a sense of community and encourage students to join.

Williams said after the initial welcome week, the club will continue to host a variety of events, including a talent show at the end of the first semester and basketball games.

“We’re (Yacht Club) open to everyone, there’s not anyone who cannot join,” Williams said. “We will be having an interest meeting Monday, September 4, our applications will open August 30th.”

There will be more information about the club at Get a Clue, Williams said, the organization's executive board will be present to answer questions. Get a Clue is an easy way for incoming students to get involved because it showcases a lot of clubs around campus.

Williams said the application to join will close Sept. 10 and new member interviews will take place Sept. 11 through Sept. 13.

“The new member interviews, I know it sounds scary, but it’s really just getting to know the people who want to join,” Williams said. “They can give us ideas about different events we should throw and stuff like that.”

Jake Simmons, a graduate business administration and communications major, said he has been a member of Yacht Club since his freshman year and now holds the title of Graduate Advisor.

Simmons said Yacht Club is a way for students to build confidence and gain a support system from their fellow members to pursue their goals.

“Whenever I was a freshman, a lot of people that I was going to school with, even sophomores and juniors, they all wanted to do YouTube and they all wanted to get into business, but they were just so scared and so conscious of what their peers thought, but Yacht Club gives you the confidence to create,” Simmons said.

Yacht Club gave Simmons an outlet to be creative, he said, he has learned how to book venues, plan events and garner hands-on business experience.

Simmons says he intends to be an entrepreneur and content creator after receiving his master's degree, and he knows the Yacht Club has instilled the confidence and business savvy to be capable of achieving his goals.

“Every event I’ve thrown has been a success and if it wasn’t a success, and I collaborated with someone or something went wrong, I knew how to fix it,” Simmons said. “You have to fail and have certain experiences in order to have the perfect idea of what you want and this (Yacht Club) has helped me get into my career.”

The skills learned by being a member of the organization, Simmons said, cannot be learned outside of hands-on experience and dedication to ensuring the events thrown are quality events.

Simmons said being involved in Yacht Club has helped him to understand the importance of investing in your future while you’re in school, because one of the best ways to garner experience is not solely by going to class but also by being involved.

“I would recommend to anybody that before you get into it, (Yacht Club),” Simmons said. “Just basically check on yourself and mentally be prepared for a blessing.”

Taylor Johnson, senior communication major, said she is the secretary on the organization’s executive board. She said in her position she assists the president and vice president, works in the organization’s member communication and performs a variety of administrative duties.

“I think it’s (joining) a really good way to step out of your comfort zone and your shell and a great opportunity to meet new people and learn and participate in events on-campus and off-campus as well,” Johnson said.

Minorities and underclassmen would benefit from joining the yacht club, Johnson said, as it helped her to grow as an individual after joining and find her place on campus.

Johnson said the organization is more than a club, but a family, and a safe space for students to explore creative opportunities and social endeavors.

“I came in (to Yacht Club) not knowing anyone and now I’m close with like my whole e-board and it was just a really good way for me to get out of my shell because I was shy coming into college,” Johnson said.