Club Fair offers meet and greet for extracurriculars

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Quade Beasley, Daniel Galloway, and Scout Spencer show off the Games Club display (photo by Helen Marlin)

Helen Marlin, Staff Writer

HHS students explored their options for after-school groups last week when the SGA hosted its annual Club Fair. 

Students filtered through the library during 5th period on Aug. 24 to learn about and sign up for all the clubs on offer. Club presidents and officers were especially pleased with the impressive turnout. 

Senior Jack Glenn, president of the Barbell Club, expressed his enthusiasm about the environment of the club fair.

“There has been a great amount of interest,” said Glenn. “Far more than I expected!”

Homewood High School has 32 school-sponsored clubs listed on the school website. Each club has a faculty sponsor, and these clubs cater to niche interests or hobbies, with clubs ranging from Beta Club to Barbell Club. Club membership is open year-round, with some invitation-only membership, such as the National Honor Society.

Several HHS clubs additionally offer volunteer and leadership opportunities for students to participate during the year. For many of these clubs, Club Fair is the best way to promote their philanthropies and gain new members. Each club had posters with images and interactive activities. Some even had QR codes for students to have quick, easy access to the club of their choice.

Students said many positive things about the event, including senior and Barbell Club member Harrison Hensarling. “It’s a great success, there were a lot of people here.”

Latin Club sponsor Douglas Welle said the fair went “swimmingly” and “exceeded all human expectations.” 

Scholars Bowl participants Nathan Jones and Emma Chiesa in front of their club trifold (photo by Helen Marlin)

There were new faces at the fair as many freshmen visited the Club Fair for the first time. Freshman Cooper Bailey who joined both the FCA and Best Buddies said his experience at the Club Fair was “awesome.”

Another student, Liam Goessling, compared the fair to “an ice cream shop with too many flavors” and signed up for Chess Club, Ultimate Frisbee Club, Key Club, and Barbell Club.

Club Fair significantly promotes inclusivity. There are just a few clubs with prerequisites, so if a person has an interest or a talent to offer, he can join most clubs. 

French Club President, Svea Erickson says her favorite thing about French Club is that, “about half the people who are in it do not even take French, so it’s just a space for everyone to learn about French culture without having to know any French.”

Seniors Christian Garcia, Abbey Quinn, and Lorelai Bland inform students about Environmental Club (photo by Helen Marlin)

President of Environmental Club, Christian Garcia, says “It’s very non-committal, we just want people to come out when they can.” The Environmental Club used its platform at the Club Fair to gain numerous members. Garcia shares, “We started with zero members last week, now we are at 100 and not even through the entire day.”

The HHS Club Fair was a great opportunity for students to find new interests and connect with other students across the school. The HHS community is excited to see what these clubs have to offer.