By getting in contact with club officers from a variety of different clubs, the second floor student services held the Club Fair in the gymnasium on October 5 and 6. The Club Fair helped incoming students find clubs that suited them.
The Club Fair is run by assistant principal Matt Hanes and secretary Kelli Nonemacher. According to Nonemacher, she gets in contact with “about 60 clubs.” Nonemacher also assists with setting up events for the clubs as well as getting them all together for the Club Fair.
The Club Fair brings enjoyment to Nonemacher. “[The Club Fair] opens up to ninth graders that are brand new to the school, who might not have a lot of upperclassmen friends quite yet because it’s so early into the school year,” Nonemacher said.
Nonemacher said that the Club Fair can act the same way for transfer students who are coming in as juniors or seniors and it’s a great way to make connections with people. These connections can turn into ways of gaining new members into clubs.
For most clubs, the Club Fair acts as a way to gain more club members. The school holds a variety of clubs that all have a different mission. Anime and Manga Club president Abigail Fender, said that their goal is finding a group of people, that are different in almost every way, while still having the same interest. “Bring people together who enjoy a common thing,” Fender said.
According to Gay Straight Alliance officer Kathleen Rivera-Franks, they want to “help people understand,” Rivera-Franks said.
The GSA works with teaching their members about what is happening within both the Souderton community along with the LGTBQ.
Autism Awareness Club member Ben Shadle said that “an Autism Awareness Club definitely fist into that awareness club kind of category,” Shadle said.
According to Shadle, he wanted to not only show awareness to others, but to do it where other people could join in. Shadle wants members to help spread awareness.
“When you have group three or four people that’s not really enough,” Shadle said.
A goal for Nonemacher is for students to have “an opportunity to have fun with different students with similar interests.”
By making students find a club that they are interested in, it would make other clubs grow and become something great.
According to Nonemacher, if someone wants to start a club, then they must find an adviser, go to the second floor student services and submit a club proposal.