After three years in the Undergraduate Clubs Union as a member and a year as its acting president, Jaehee Kim, a junior in the School of Computing and the School of Electrical Engineering, shared about the essential work the student-led organization has been providing for the benefit of the clubs at KAIST that is often left behind the scenes. 

Clubs Union started as a student initiative to assist the school in the management of its 50 to 80 student clubs. Every semester, the organization processes about a hundred applications made by each club for funding, event organization, and equipment and facility usage. The president’s role includes providing oversight, scheduling and making announcements, and most importantly, distributing tasks and workload. The union then evaluates the requests and allocates the limited resources. Moreover, the union has a democratic structure to ensure a fair process of representing the needs and wants of each club. Clubs are separated into categories according to the nature of their activities, such as “Instrumental Music” or “Ball Sports”. Each category elects a corresponding president to accommodate the evaluation process. Clubs Union serves as a bridge between the clubs of KAIST and its administration, managing the distribution of resources, and ensuring that safety and school regulations are followed and updated if deemed necessary. Every year, the union distributes around 85 million KRW, conducts safety checks in club rooms, and rents out expensive equipment. 

The members are expected to consistently participate in evaluation as they represent every club in the school. The load-heavy job, fortunately, provides perks as well — a salary, a slight tilt of scale towards the club of their choice, and an opportunity to affect change in the school and cooperate with its administrations. Over the years, Clubs Union has crafted a strong relationship built on mutual trust with the school administration, allowing them to make the needed decisions autonomously for the benefit of the students at KAIST. It is without a doubt an irreplaceable asset to student life. Kim, the ex-President of the Clubs Union, noted: “Clubs Union members are diligent students dedicated to helping the school and bringing a positive change to the lives of their classmates.”