Freshman reflect on club selection process

Austin Leiby, Staff Writer|November 1, 2016

Advisor+Steve+Heileg+lays+on+a+bed+of+nails+during+the+annual+clubs+fair+on+Sept.+15th.

Advisor Steve Heileg lays on a bed of nails during the annual clubs fair on Sept. 15th.

Student clubs are back in action after the club fair finished on Sept. 15, and new high schoolers are figuring out what these groups mean to the school and its students. After being required to engage with these groups for three weeks following the fair, students are now faced with making a choice of which club they should join.

Liam Will is one of the many freshmen who attended the club fair, “It’s a safe place to meet new people with common interests and to make new friends,” he said. These groups at St. Paul Academy provide a space where kids gather through similar interests and meet others with related passions. Meeting every thursday during X-period, these clubs all have vastly different agendas. Ranging from chatting about the upcoming football games, to analyzing the most recent presidential debate, these clubs cater a student friendly forum to express their interests with other classmates.

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It’s a safe place to meet new people with common interests and to make new friends

— Freshman Liam Will

While these groups encourage discussion between students in a specific field, they are also an outlet for meeting new people, “It’s good to have another community to hang out with besides just people in your grade, you can meet new people,” said freshman Lauren Dieperink. Students looking to make new friends can resort to these clubs to find those with related hobbies.

The club fair is a time when freshmen are encouraged to check out student groups, and see what they have to offer. The meaning of this event is for different clubs to show new high school students a taste of what they offer. The club fair “Really gave a sense of the level of organization within each,” said Liam Will, “Most people in the clubs were friends, so they all seemed very inclusive,” Lauren Dieperink added. The reviews from ninth graders were positive, noting that the clubs had a welcoming feel to them as well as an established structure within. Only a couple of weeks of student groups have gone by now, the club fair was just the first of many fun experiences that you can have in these student-friendly groups.