In order to share their passion with other students and gain leadership skills, multiple clubs were created by students this school year with various focuses and goals.
Colors for Coats is a new club started by Co-Presidents Hampton Ramos and Anya Patel. Starting a club is “pretty simple” according to Ramos.
“Basically you can fill out a club application form, you go to student services to get this form, and just fill out who is your mentor, what is your club about, how is your club different from other clubs that are already started,” Ramos said. “Once you submit the application it goes through [assistant principal Matt] Haines and then it goes to [Principal Sam] Varano. If Dr. Varano signs off on it then your club is official.”
This process is estimated to take only a couple of weeks, but for others, complications delayed the process.
For President Madelyn Medycki, starting the club Women Aid Society wasn’t as easy. Women Aid Society is a club that is meant to support and motivate women. “At first my club didn’t get approved because there were other clubs that were similar,but I had some different ideas and goals for my club that I wanted to do,” Medycki said.
Medycki decided to reach out to English teacher Krysten Momsen for help.
“We decided to talk to Mrs. Momsen who runs the I AM THAT GIRL club. She helped us come up with the ideas and then we pitched them to Dr. Varano,” Medycki said.
Once a club is created, the student must organize meetings and spread the word. Many club leaders use social media and friends to publicize their upcoming events and attract new members.
“First I made a social media account and then I started telling all my friends about it,” Asian Culture Club President Lydia Hwang said. “Then I posted on the social media account and a lot of people followed it right away.”
Hwang started the Asian Culture Club to allow her and other students to learn more about the different Asian cultures.
Both Ramos and Medycki have also created Instagram accounts for their clubs.
“I made an Instagram account for the club along with telling my friends about it in hopes of getting a lot of people interested in our club,” Ramos said.
All the work to start a club and get it going shows club leaders what to expect from running a club.
“When I first started it, I didn’t think it would be that much work or that much time put into it… it’s definitely a lot more work than I anticipated,” Medycki said.
Club leaders like Hwang feel that it can be a lot to balance running a club and schoolwork.