Implementing new interests: New clubs enter the CCHS extracurricular scene

BY EMMA HUERTA

As with the usual high school experience, many activities fill up students’ schedules both during and after school. A huge part of this lifestyle can be attributed to extracurricular clubs, as students unite themselves into distinct groups honoring a common interest or service.

Clubs at CCHS vary, from honor societies and volunteer-service organizations to career-oriented groups. Some of the more popular and larger clubs on campus include Student Government Association (SGA), Key Club and National Honor Society (NHS).

All of these groups not only provide students with useful skills and lessons they can build upon in the future, but they also help these students build up their resumes and make their college applications stand out.

Thus, significant participation in these organizations is often sought after by students in order to gain such skills and increase their chances of admission to college. Generally, students attain such positions by appointment or elections. But for some CCHS students, they are gaining these roles in a more unique way: by creating an original club.

“I wanted to create this club with Sarah, [my] co-president,
because we are both interested in marine science and we wanted to start something that could give a hands-on learning experience,” Pollock said.

Two students currently in this process are sophomores Sarah Mumby and Keri Pollock, who are pitching their idea for a marine science club.

“I wanted to create this club with Sarah, [my] co-president, because we are both interested in marine science and we wanted to start something that could give a hands-on learning experience,” Pollock said. “The purpose is to give students the opportunity to learn more about Earth’s oceans and marine life in and out of the classroom.”

The application process includes filling out a packet, indicating details like the club’s sponsor and intentions, as well as standard contact information. Applicants must also get 20 signatures from peers who support their club proposal, and additional signatures from a counselor and an administrator to prove the students’ good academic and behavioral standings.

The club’s constitution and bylaws, which basically state all of the club’s details in one document, must also be submitted along with the other forms. All of the documents and rules for new clubs can be found on the CCHS SGA website.

Another club that has recently gone through this process is Kids at Heart, a hospital volunteering organization founded by sophomore Emma Avchen. Although the application asks for simple details about the prospective club, Avchen describes the small obstacle she faced when constructing her application.

“Leading up to the approval meeting, I was more nervous than I’ve ever been,” Avchen said. “When it got approved I felt so relieved, excited and ready to get started.”

“When I thought of this idea, I was at softball practice, and the next day I went to Dr. Hozebin and she walked me through the whole [thing],” Avchen said. “[It] was very time consuming because in your application you have to describe your club in about four lines, which was very difficult because I had so much to say.”

Despite this, Avchen soon submitted her application to the CCHS Interorganizational Council (IOC) and her idea was recently approved at the IOC meeting in February.

“Leading up to the approval meeting, I was more nervous than I’ve ever been,” Avchen said. “When it got approved I felt so relieved, excited and ready to get started.”

Not only does the rigorous club-initiation process include some paperwork and review by the IOC, but it also brings about the task of officer appointment. Often, this task may pose as a difficult one to founders as they do not wish to favor their close friends over acquaintances that may also be qualified.

“When choosing the officers, I was faced with a big issue because I wanted to pick all my best friends, but I knew I couldn’t pick based on how close I am with them,” Avchen said. “So I told a few people about my club and out of the people who said they wanted to be an officer, I picked the best fit for each position based on reliability, specific skills and the ways they interact with their classmates.”

The addition of new clubs such as Marine Science Club, Kids at Heart and History Club continues to broaden the interests of the student body, while they result in happier and more fully represented students as well as the founding of new traditions.

Although both Marine Science Club and Kids at Heart have not been fully formed yet, one recent acceptance— History Club— has already had its first couple of meetings.

“I applied to Dr. Hozebin and [the club] was approved in the IOC meeting that took place in January,” sophomore and club founder Javokhirbek Anvarjonov said. “Our sponsor is Ms. Thomas and we meet in room 3457. Our purpose is to explore topics in history that our members want to learn in a fun and interactive way, involving discussions and Kahoot! and Jeopardy games.”

By promoting the club via social media and contacting peers who might want to join, Anvarjonov was able to successfully gather lots of interested CCHS students at History Club’s first meeting.

“If you know your past, you know about your future. This is why I wanted to start the club,” Anvarjonov said. “Our first meeting went really well, we had 20 students show up. My officers and I spread the word by telling our friends and posting about it on Snapchat. We even created an Instagram account to showcase our meetings and upcoming events.”

All in all, the different clubs at CCHS are what make the school so unique and special and help encourage increased student participation in the community. The addition of new clubs such as Marine Science Club, Kids at Heart and History Club continues to broaden the interests of the student body, while they result in happier and more fully represented students as well as the founding of new traditions.

Photo by Genna Nordling