With over 50 clubs and extracurriculars at NASH, it’s easy to get lost in the shuffle. To help students navigate the club landscape, last Friday, the NASH cafeteria was host to the annual Activities Fair.
“At a school this large, clubs can help make it feel smaller and more personable,” Student Council Sponsor and NASH Lead Teacher Justin Karolski said.
Students representing a wide range of groups set up booths and fielded questions from prospective new members during all lunch periods.
Karolski emphasized the skills that clubs can provide for students as they prepare to leave high school.
“I have seen clubs teach leadership, logistics, planning, budgeting, organization, communication, and more,” he said.
Izzy Mulkearns founded Travel Club at the end of last school year, and was representing the group at last Friday’s fair.
“I think the most unique thing that we’ve started is a bucket list, where we list a whole bunch of places that are nearby that have worldwide cultures, where you get to experience different cultures and cuisines,” Mulkearns said. “You get to pick five and complete it by the end of the year.”
Sammi Heikenin represented DECA, one of the larger clubs at NASH. DECA is a national organization that organizes events, tests, and competitions spanning multiple professional fields.
“DECA gives you a great opportunity to talk to other adults in the industries that you’re interested in,” Heikenin said, noting that the international conference last year hosted over 20,000 students from the world over, allowing for NASH students to network in ways that aren’t possible in most other aspects of school life.
FCCLA is similar to DECA in that it’s a national organization with chances to travel, but it is more focused on the fields of family consumer science. Colleen Pattison and Jack Churchill highlighted a class called You Can Act Confidently that members of FCCLA were able to create to elementary students after school. The NA FCCLA visited Seattle last year to showcase the class.
“You get time to be able to help other people, but also have fun and be silly. We bake, we do crafts, we do literally anything you can think of, and it’s completely at your own pace,” Pattison said.
Another relatively new club at NASH represented at the fair was the National Math Honor Society, founded by Olivia Altman and club president Olivia Jung.
“We are definitely planning a lot of things this year, including publishing club math magazines, and other service opportunities like tutoring and volunteering,” Jung said. “We’re planning on organizing competitions, too.”
For students interested in the arts, the National Art Honor Society may be worth a look. Hailey Thiel was representing NAHS at the fair and explained some of the benefits the club offers that students may not immediately think of.
“We did face painting for Project Water, and we do a lot of window painting,” Thiel said. “It’s a lot of creative stuff, and I think anyone who likes art will have fun.”
At last Friday’s fair, Andew Li was representing HOSA, a unique organization for students who plan on entering healthcare. HOSA is a national organization with support from the U.S. Department of Education and the Health Science Technology Education Division of ACTE. Li is in his third year of HOSA, and helped to explain the purpose of the club.
“It’s directed towards people who already know they want to go into healthcare or medicine, and it really provides that in-depth perspective and opportunities for those people who are really interested,” Li said.
Like DECA and FCCLA, HOSA offers the ability to compete on state and national levels.
“We’ve been going to some cool places in PA to compete with other schools, and it’s just a lot of fun being able to spend time with friends,” Li said. “Last year, we stayed at the Cartoon Network Hotel.”
Li said that this year, HOSA plans to increase the amount of speakers and meetings so students can gain more insight into the real world of healthcare.
A full list of clubs is available on the NASH website, with all matter of other subjects represented — wellness, biology, theatre, technology, and more. However, if you can’t find a club that speaks to you at NASH, it’s always possible to start your own.
“We are constantly accepting new clubs based on student and staff interests,” Karolski said. “We always love to see what students want and to tailor our offerings to that.”
