With over 60 clubs and organizations, it’s no secret that UNC Asheville students love to get involved. Just a week into classes, first-year Manning Stewart is hard at work putting together a brand new fishing club.
Stewart is an Asheville native studying business at UNCA. Ever since he started fishing at just five years old, the sport has remained a core aspect of his life. Most recently he started land-based shark fishing and volunteering for the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to tag sharks for research purposes.
He said he hopes by starting the fishing club he’ll build a community around his lifelong passion.
“Going into college, I really want to find a community that aligns with a lot of the similar interests that I have,” Stewart said. “I feel like fishing is probably my biggest interest I have, and leads to a lot more outdoor opportunities.”
The club has yet to become official, but Stewart already found people interested in joining. First-year Harry Odem overheard Stewart pitching the idea to a student involvement officer. Despite not having as much experience as Stewart, he was captivated by the obscure styles of fishing Stewart hopes to incorporate into the club.
“Manning talked about land based shark fishing, showed me a video and it looks like the single most metal thing I’ve ever seen,” Odem said. “If there’s even a chance we could do a trip like that in my four years, I think it’s worth signing up.”
If it manages to get off the ground Stewart hopes to start with pond fishing near campus and work up to more difficult styles in other spots. One potential activity he mentioned was taking a boat out to Lake James on the border of Burke and McDowell counties.
Some activities may sound challenging for newcomers but Stewart believes as long as members get invested, they can master anything the club throws at them.
“It’s a process, but if you really involve yourself, it all pays off,” Stewart said. “It took me a while to hone my skills with shark fishing. I would say that it’s almost a sport of failure a lot of the time, but it really develops a strong personality. And when it does pay off, it’s one of the best feelings in the world.”
In order for the club to become official, it needs at least five members, a club constitution, supervisors from the university and has to apply for official recognition. Once the club gets recognized, the leaders will be given information about campus resources and have the freedom to organize their own activities within reason.
Student Organization Coordinator Anele Saige is involved in recognizing clubs. She said she has a lot of respect for first-years who are willing to start their own clubs.
“I think that’s kind of impressive because starting a club is a big commitment,” Saige said. “Especially if you’re the president or one of those leadership roles, because there’s a lot of things you have to manage and attend. Really the hardest part is getting a club off of the ground. So to just come in swinging in the first year, that’s great. I would be a little bit intimidated so I’m impressed by people who can just go and do that.”
Within the coming weeks, flyers will be going up with information about the fishing club, Stewart said. It will also be featured on the RockyConnect page with information about meeting times and how to join when it becomes official, Saige said.
Though Stewart isn’t the only first-year looking to make his mark on UNCA. At least five other incoming students emailed Saige about creating new clubs during the summer, she said. The school’s thriving club scene isn’t looking to die anytime soon so make sure to keep an eye out. There’s always something for everyone.
“Most people that have club ideas that are really original and unique, but enough that there is interest and people do want to join,” Saige said. “So I feel like that gives you a wide range of specific interests for clubs but then there’s also more general ones. So I think we have a good selection of student orgs.”
