Clubs can be an excellent getaway to express yourself and experience the things that you’re interested in. In a school-wide survey conducted, where 232 students of all grades participated, 33.6 percent of students said that being in a club has positively impacted them, whereas only 1.7 percent said that it impacted them negatively.
As for the rest of the school, 60.3 percent said they weren’t involved in clubs, but about half were open to the possibility of joining a club. Senior Tyler Welsh, a Gaming Club member, said, “Gaming Club is more like we come in here and we play games with everybody and we have fun and make friends.”
Another Gaming Club member, junior Ellie Karkabe-Holz, explains how Gaming Club has impacted her life. “It’s the one thing I look forward to when going to school. It’s my motivating factor for a lot of things,” said Karkabe-Holz, enthusiastic about her time spent in the club.
“It’s where I met all my friends that I have now, so it’s really important to me.” In Gaming Club, students are able to make friends with people who have similar interests, lowering the struggle of making friends in high school.
Secretary of Future Farmers of America, (FFA) junior Shauna Flores talks about how being a member of the club has impacted her daily life.
“Definitely talking to people,” said Flores, who was skeptical about joining FFA at first. “Because we do have speaking competitions and it’s helped me hold myself in a better way, to present myself to people and to really make sure if I’m going to help somebody, I need to think about everything. Especially when you’re trying to sell something to someone you can apply that to just helping someone out for a favor and asking them questions and making sure you know what they want.”
Flores has been able to integrate the knowledge and skills gained in order to succeed in her daily life. Alternatively, there are students who feel negatively about clubs and refuse to join them.
Freshman Myla Johnson said, “My friend was in the Shakespeare Club and I thought about joining.” Johnson said initially she was interested in participating. “So I asked what kind of club it is, and she said you have to stand up in front of a crowd and read, but I didn’t want to do that because I am shy. I didn’t really know what stage crew was about, I didn’t know what that was and because I was joining in late I didn’t want to be behind on that.”
Stage fright and social anxiety can be a big reason to avoid clubs, and can even deter you from ever joining one. However, it can also be a great place to meet new friends and experience new things.
Both sides have their respective reasons for being ecstatic or unenthused, and neither are wrong. There are many clubs here at Sedro-Woolley High School, and you never know which one might be a surprising fit.