From Sept. 26-29, the small gym and Wildcat Area were packed with students. This was the highly anticipated first Club Fair since COVID, where students could advertise their clubs in person or explore new clubs they were interested in. Although students could join clubs from an online slideshow, the Club Fair allowed students to meet club leaders face-to-face, creating a more personal experience.
“We want [students] to be able to connect with the leaders of the clubs,” associate principal Tiffany Best said. “They can ask whatever questions they want and get general information to ensure it’s the best fit for them.”
Every club had one day to set up a table with posters and infographics to promote itself. This gave new and lesser-known clubs more exposure to the student body and helped them recruit more members.
“I helped set up the club. We had flyers, and many people stopped to read them and learn about our message,” said the secretary of Bring Change 2 Mind club, senior Blake Alexander.
Many club leaders also faced challenges when organizing their clubs, as not all students may have been genuinely interested in joining.
“A lot of people just came by as a joke, signed up, got candies, and then never attended a meeting,” Alexander said. “That’s probably about half of the people who joined the club.”
However, having over 150 clubs in only four days posed a challenge.
“It did feel a little overwhelming because there were so many clubs,” said senior Elyssa Taylor.
And students have suggestions on how to make it better next year.
“They should have more space so the tables are not as packed with each other,” said freshman Jonah Bayog. “They should [also] enforce club leaders to show up at their table and make sure that all the clubs present what they are at the fair. [Because] there were a lot of empty tables especially for the cubs that I wanted to see.”
The Club Fair was especially important for ninth graders because, as Best pointed out, “they don’t know anyone here, but at the Club Fair, they can meet and connect with someone they share a bond with at a table.”
“For the clubs that I’ve joined, it’s only been a month and I’ve already become friends with a lot of upperclassmen,” Bayog said. “There are a lot of people that share their common interests with me.”
As the curtains fell on this year’s Club Fair, it marked a step towards joining clubs from online to in person.
“The club fair definitely helped a lot,” said Bayog. “[Without it], I wouldn’t feel as confident about joining and just understand about certain clubs.”
