West Ranch Wildcats participated in the school’s annual Club Rush event on Sept. 20 at brunch. Students walked through rows of tables covered with club signs and candies to try and attract new members to join their club.
To draw people to their clubs, many club organizers used different strategies. Jessica Lee, founder of Badminton Club, expressed, “We set up posters and set up candies, we handed out QR codes for the information flier.” To reassure members that they were under no obligation to join, Lee elaborated, “We explained that tournaments were optional and you do not need to have any past experiences.”
Other club presidents brought props to show off what their clubs do. Somesh Sharma Sriprasanna, a West Ranch sophomore from Project F.U.S.I.O.N.S. (Fusing Unique Sounds Into One Novel Symphony) chose to use a creative method of attracting members. “We created a virtual presentation and played some fusion music on a speaker so everyone could better understand what the club was aimed at,” Sriprasanna explained.
A few other clubs opted for a mixture of stand-up comedy and speeches. Owen Chen, vice president of Teacher Funding Coalition (TFC), clarified, “The president [and I] chose to come to Club Rush without any props. Instead, we came only equipped with our words and methods of persuasion. The president explained to any individual curious enough the purpose of the club, after which he would ask for the person’s goals, and then he would explain how the club could help said person.”
For other students like sophomore Clive Jeon, Club Rush helped them get a better idea of how they would be spending their next few years at West Ranch. Wildcats were eager to sign up for clubs and pursue their various passions and talents.
Club Rush also offered an opportunity for Wildcats to fulfill some of the prerequisites necessary for college. Jeon explained, “I discovered clubs dedicated to a wide range of interests, from volunteering and community development to academic support; there was practically a club for every interest you could think of.”
For Dhruv Kulkarni, Club Rush was a much-needed boost for his new club Fair Share, a club that helps gather and distribute retired Advanced Placement (AP) books to students who cannot afford their own copies. Kulkarni hopes his club may be beneficial in students’ academic journeys through AP classes and tests. Kulkarni elaborated on why Club Rush was beneficial for Fair Share: “I got more than 30 signups and that will help gather books for other people’s studies so that everyone has access. Even if everyone donated around two books, that’s around 60 books already so that will help everyone in the whole school get access and pass their AP exams.”
Kulkarni pitched in with advice to anyone who wants to make a new club: “Creating a club that’s helping the whole school will attract new members because more people would be excited to join and also make interesting posters and have fun!” For both new clubs and established school societies, Club Rush was an effective way to gain new club members for clubs.
West Ranch sophomore Merdula Krishman remarked, “The clubs were more [about] community building and piqued more areas of interest for me, and it differed from last year because it was easier to locate clubs and not have to search for specific clubs that were scattered around last year.
