Over 15 different student clubs recruited new members during lunches on Sept. 10-12.
Club leaders set out flyers and trifolds on tables outside the lunchroom.
Most clubs also included QR codes on their materials with a link to a Google classroom or group chat.
Club leaders expressed enthusiasm for their clubs.
Senior Radha Pareek, who is involved in Asian American and Pacific Islanders club (AAPI), Bison Buddies and Model UN, encourages students to get involved in extracurriculars.
“Definitely join these clubs. It’s a great opportunity to meet new people and get out of your comfort zone,” Pareek said.
When talking about her three clubs, she went into specifics about the benefits and what she has learned from her own experiences.
“Model UN is really important to me because it’s an opportunity for young people passionate about pressing issues in the world to really explore different perspectives and have meaningful dialogue that can be the beginning of effectuating real change in the world,” Pareek said. “As for our Asian affinity club, this is relatively new to the high school, and I think it’s great for fostering a welcoming environment and for ensuring that we are culturally aware of our differences and also take steps to celebrate them.”
She also said students should consider Bison buddies as an opportunity for students to learn teaching skills and leadership.
Senior Ana Sofia Shlachter talked about how the AAPI club has helped establish a sense of community within the school.
“I think this club is very important because you learn about different Asian cultures,” she said. “But in this club, everyone is connected.”
“Once [you] join the club, we learn more about each other, because there’s different Asian ethnicities in the club,” she added. “And you don’t have to be Asian to join it, either. So it’s great. It’s very welcoming.”
Along with the many extracurricular activities that have been in the school for many years, there have been some new clubs introduced this year.
Juniors Maria Zarjetzkiy and Sienna James started a Spanish club this year.
“[W]e want to emphasize that this club is not only for those who are taking Spanish, but also for those who just want to appreciate the culture,” Zarjetskiy said. “We want to not only learn about the grammar and Spanish culture, but also you want to get in touch with the Hispanic community of Cleveland and volunteer with them.”
Zarjetskiy feels the recruitment event was successful.
“After the club fair we have almost forty members who signed up,” she said. “The club fair helped us spread the message about how the club is for people of all different Spanish levels; it was really heartwarming seeing how many people had genuine interest in the club.”
