Student Special: Spotlight on Clubs & Societies – "You get to meet new people by doing what you love"

As a student, finding a creative outlet was the only way I stayed sane. It was almost impossible for me to find the time to express my creative side amid a packed class schedule and frantic revision sessions – it was so easy to let it take a backseat. That’s why creative clubs became a lifeline.

I have a passion for photography, and though I didn’t have much real experience or even a camera of my own when I began school, I joined my university’s photography club. I made some of my closest friends in creative clubs, as we bonded over our shared passions. Eventually, it became the hour I most looked forward to each week.

The newly-inaugurated auditor of the University of Galway’s Photography Society, Devika Das, says she arrived in Galway without much interest in attracting attention. Originally from India, she “wanted to blend in with the university,” as she explains to me. But in joining the Photography Society, she was given an opportunity to be known.

“I was overwhelmed with the amount of people who would come up to me and say hi,” she notes, “because they knew me as the secretary of Photosoc.”

The University of Galway’s Photography Society hosts events for all things photography: from workshops to competitions, talks to photo walks. Devika emphasises that the club was for all levels of experience: it doesn’t matter if you have had years of experience or, like me when I started, barely picked up a camera in your life. Devika mentions a common misconception many first-year students have about the club, that it requires some niche experience.

“I’m sure there are still some people in our campus that think you require a certain level of skill,” she says. “But last year we tried to emphasise as much as possible that it’s literally open to anyone and everyone, even if you haven’t picked up a camera before and you want to try now.”

Previously the secretary of Photosoc and now entering her third year at the University of Galway, I ask Devika if she’s excited or nervous about her upcoming tenure as the society’s auditor. She answers that she’s both.

“It’s a lot of responsibility on a person,” she concedes, “but I really enjoyed it last year and I made some really good friends. Some of them are still there and I’m really excited to get back to work.”

When the conversation turns to Galway’s darkroom, I admit to feeling a spark of jealousy and note my own lack of access to film photography resources. Devika commiserates, explaining that they are lucky to have access to theirs.

“When we saw the condition of it when it was handed over to us,” she says, “it was in a very bad state. So, we had to do a little bit of work. It’s not completely done, but it’s way better than what it was before.”

They held a darkroom workshop last year, open to anybody with even the slightest interest in film photography. However, the crown jewel in Photosoc’s event line-up is their signature photo walks. When I ask about Devika’s favourite places around the beautiful University of Galway campus to take photos, she discusses the walks and how much fun they are.

“We just gather in a group and walk around town taking pictures,” she says, “and it’s great because you get to meet new people by doing what you love.”

Read the full Student Special in the current issue of Hot Press – out now: