By Kaitlyn Kelley
“The college experience is an optimal environment for trading, playing and learning card games,” Nick Rauschenbauch, a former student of Eastern Gateway Community College, said.
Rauschenbauch, one of the many members of Youngstown State University’s new Trading Card Club, feels college has been a great place to partake in hobbies.
“The demographic of different people in college is more diverse, so there are so many more people to interact with,” said Michael Wildman, a part-time information technology major. “You could be the only person into something like card games in high school, but college isn’t like that.”
With over 12,000 students at YSU, the formation of diverse clubs is prevalent, so students can make more connections and form friendships with people that share their interests — something that may have been difficult to do in high school.
The Trading Card Club was formed in fall 2017 by many who remain officers of the club today. One of those students is Danielle Trybala, a senior theatre major who has been a member of the club since it started.
“I had cards as a kid that my neighbor gave me but never learned how to play until I joined this club,” she said.
Trybala decided to help build the club alongside the current president and another founder of the club, Steven Bowers, a senior anthropology major.
Bowers has created helpful events for new members of the club, from “learn to play” days where members can learn a variety of card games to regular playing days where any student can jump in.
People who may not have had the chance to try card games in high school can now give it a shot.
Since many students aren’t seeing the same people every day for several hours like in high school, many people tend to mind their own business and do their own thing, according to some members.
Josh Mansfield, a senior religious studies major and the secretary of the Trading Card Club, said people can still be considered “nerdy,” but everyone has their own niches in college.
The club members feel this breeds a much healthier and accepting environment, allowing people to feel more comfortable joining different clubs and partaking in hobbies that may have made them feel ostracized in high school, especially at smaller schools.
“In high school, we played card games in the cafeteria. … It was never much of a club,” Bowers said. “I believe that college in itself is an environment for many different types of audiences, including people who just like playing card games.”
With the Trading Card Club now added to YSU’s list of organizations, there are more ways for students to find others who have similar hobbies, make connections, play games and create lifelong friendships.
