Brigham Young University has over 300 clubs devoted to students special interests and talents.

While the bustle of student life declines in the spring, many clubs continue to meet throughout the summer.

Many students find that participating in clubs during the spring and summer creates a closer sense of community.

John Patten, president of the BYU ping-pong club, said he has been a member of the club for the past year.

Patten said that having the club available in the spring and summer helps strengthen their community.

I played growing up, and when I got here, I just wanted to find my niche, and I found it here, Patten said. I feel like in the fall and winter you have tons of people coming in and out, and now its more of the regulars."

BYU has clubs for athletics and recreation, service, culture, special interests and more.

BYU student Laurel Rolfs attends the art beat club. She says its a relaxing environment where she can create art.

There are a bunch of free art supplies, which makes it fun, Rolfs said. Youre literally just making art to make art, which is fun.

Rolfs shared that artistic talent is not necessary to be a part of the club. The club aims to have a welcoming environment open to everyone.

Youre not showing the art to anybody...There's no pressure, Rolfs said.

Nathan Ames, a BYU student and member of the fencing club, shared how he has developed multiple skills through the club.

I think fencing is a unique sport because it pairs intellect with agility, Ames said. You dont have to be the strongest or the biggest or the fastest. You can train and you can get faster. You can learn and its never boring.

BYU student and fencing club member Grace Bodily shared why more people should join.

Its a good little community and friend group, Bodily said. If youre an adrenaline junkie, then you can get your fix here.

The Brigham Young University Student Association oversees the creation and participation of all clubs at BYU.

Celeste Moscoso Vilchez, an area assistant for clubs at BYUSA, said there are many resources available to support ongoing and new clubs.

We help volunteers organize the events and communicate with the clubs to see if they are interested in participating with our events, Vilchez said. Basically our events are for the clubs to be able to engage with the student body.

BYUSA also plays a role in advertising the clubs and encouraging new people to join.

We make sure that theyre following guidelines, that theyre following social media policies, that their activities are available to everyone and that people get to know about them, Vilchez said.

There is a place for every student at Brigham Young University to find their niche. From ping-pong, to art, to fencing, there are countless activities for students to explore.

For information on how to start a club, visit the BYUSA office at 3400 WSC.

With winter semester coming to an end, students across the Brigham Young University campus took time to reflect on what this semester meant for them.

Its just been a little bit more of a stressful semester, Laurel Rolfs, a computer science major, said. But it has not been the most stressful semester Ive ever had.

Most of Rolfs' stress came from her CS 240 class, where students build a digitally playable chess game throughout the semester. They must pass a timed exam testing their ability to recode piece movements of the game with 100% accuracy or they were required to withdraw.

That was really stressful, and I was really scared for it. But then, once it was over, I was so proud of myself because I passed, Rolfs said.

Because of this experience, Rolfs said the semester was one of growth. In previous semesters, she doubted whether she was smart enough to be in the computer major.

However, after passing the exam, it showed her that she can do hard things, giving her confidence.

I hadnt updated my resume in a year because I was scared cause then if I updated it, then I would have to give it to people and then they might actually want to hire me, Rolfs said. I did update my resume and I have submitted it. I feel like Ive made a lot of progress in some of these areas that I was not making before."

The growth is a product of experiences with her professors. Rolfs said she started to see them in different ways, including one professor in another computer science class.

The professor was new to teaching and, on the first day of class, Rolfs said he gave students five opportunities to leave for a different lecture.

Buddy, I need you to have some confidence, Rolfs said. I dont have confidence, so I was kind of annoyed.

Rolfs learned after the first two weeks of class that the professor practiced three times for his lectures whose lectures are supposed to fill an hour and 15 minutes worth of class time.

It totally made me see him differently, Rolfs said. 'I was just like oh, youre a child of God. Youre doing your best.

Rolfs said she hopes she can carry the skills she learned, like starting projects earlier, into the next semester.

It made what could have been probably a harder class a little bit less hard and a little bit more manageable, Rolf said.

Tate Modersitzki, a global supply chain management major, also expressed difficulty managing his time, as it is his last semester at BYU, and he is working 35 hours a week at a startup in Lehi called Redo.

Trying to balance going to school, even though Im kind of working almost full time, was the most challenging, Modersitzki said. Ive definitely dropped a few balls here and there, but it wasnt too bad.

Modersitzki described his semester as fun despite being busy, making time to hang out with friends, take fewer classes and attend devotionals after being inspired by the reorganization of Church leadership.

Modersitzki said he learned many skills during his time at BYU, and that he was especially impacted this semester by his ethics class, where he built his own code of ethics.

The idea would be that if I gave you my code of ethics, youd be able to guess what I would do in specific situations, Modersitzki said.

The meaning behind this only grew as he reflected on teachings in his religion class, particularly by teachings of Elder Eyring, first counselor in the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Do what God wants you to, not just what he allows you to do," Modersitzki said. And so those two things combined really have a powerful impact on me as Im moving into a professional setting rather than a school setting to really love what Im doing, first off, but also have that spiritual foundation and be who I need to be.

As Modersitzki gets ready to graduate, he said there will always be something to learn.

Ive been here for a while. 5th year senior, right, Modersitzki said. I feel like Ive taken a ton of classes, but there's always something more to learn and more people to meet.

Modersitzki is not the only BYU student expecting change. Emma Harding, a psychology student with a minor in communications, has also had a busy semester.

She got engaged on Jan 16 and is getting married in May. She is also taking psychological statistics and finding time to serve as a temple worker.

I started last semester, and I was working on Tuesdays, but it was just so busy. I was like this isnt gonna work, Harding said. I went to Saturday. Im there from like nine until two. So it takes up my entire day.

Despite all these responsibilities, Harding said she learned how to better manage her time and found a lot of joy in her job in a research lab.

She works with Janae Nelson, an assistant professor of psychology who studies positive psychology, to research how spirituality affects decision-making.

Harding said with all of her experiences, the biggest takeaway from this semester was learning how to build her resume within her field of study, which helped her become more selective about the activities she participates in.

You get better jobs the more experience you have, Harding said. Ive seen that come to light for internships and stuff this semester.

Despite the challenges this semester, many BYU students had experiences that helped them grow and have the strength to finish the semester.