Club Rush, which took place October 16-20 on the grass of the academic mall, represents freedom for students where they make the call and break from the confines of the course catalog and dive into clubs that spark a passion their academic classes or electives don’t satisfy. After all, school can resemble Groundhog Day where students feel like they’re in robot mode going through the motions of academic rigor with little color or variety. 

Club Rush got off to a successful start. The initial registration this year boasted 91 clubs. In 2022, Sage Creek had 87 clubs. The top five largest clubs last year were the National Honor Society, California Scholarship Federation Club, Cereal Appreciation, Croissant Club and Young Life Club. Roughly 80 percent of students participated in at least one club last year. While it’s too early to call, the Sage looks forward to posting the new stats for this school year and finding out what motivating factors drove Bobcats to join the club or clubs they did.

Students dove right into day one of Club Rush to interview club leaders to determine why they wanted to start or continue a club, here are some interesting findings. 

When asked why he wanted to start his Origami club, Sage Creek junior Harper Kaplan said, “Origami has been a long-standing hobby of mine, and I recently found that the community is a lot larger than I had thought. I wanted to be able to expand that reach and get to know others who share my enjoyment of the art.” 

One thing rings true for all students: time is at a premium and any investment needs to be worth the while. Club Leaders get this and are stepping up their game, blending meaning and fun. Kaplan is on board. 

“I wanted to create a club that was a good blend of academic and pure fun, able to teach people new things and let them enjoy the interesting and unique art of Origami,” Kaplan said. Club Leaders are getting inspired and expanding their repertoires to include special guests, merchandising, creative fundraising and more. 

Kaden Riley, president of the ASL Club, is fired up to have a highly interactive club whether students want to practice, expand their skills or even pursue ASL as a career. He has plans to invite guests from the deaf community to create a deeper connection to and understanding of this lifestyle, its challenges and breakthroughs. In interviewing club leaders, one thing was evident. They were all passionate about their club and inspiring their members. 

Riley said, “I’ve been wanting to create a club for a while to build a community with a supportive and inclusive environment, but I just didn’t know exactly what. Eventually, it hit me, I wanted to create an ASL club!”

Making a difference in other people’s lives is paramount for Leila Young, president of the Key Club, who said, “I have a huge passion for helping others and I just love the idea of others joining together in order to serve one purpose. So, that is why I am president right now. You see I am not president because of my title. I am president because I want to make a bigger impact on the club and hopefully get the ball rolling on many more successful years.” Young’s club is a preexisting club that she’s pledged dedication to improving and thoroughly enjoys the challenge of strengthening.

Clare Wong and Amani Eulmi have even bigger goals; they would love to see their club, S.T.A.R Collective, evolve into an official nonprofit organization.

For Wong and Eulmi, it’s important to be accessible role models for younger children and serve those who have a harder road to travel. “We also wished to support underrepresented and underprivileged communities, whose children don’t typically receive this kind of support early in life, leading to impactful differences in careers and education later in life,” said Wong.

“What inspired me to carry the torch and take the leadership role was how the close ASL class environment is. When you walk into the ASL class, you feel like everyone is your friend. I wanted to capture that feeling and put it in a club,” said Riley.

Kate Escamilla, vice president of the Biomed Club said, “When I first joined the club, I was in my third year of the Biomed pathway. I wanted to further involve myself in my school, especially in activities that pertain to my future career goals. I wanted to take on a leadership role in the club to help its growth and improvement. I loved being the social media manager for the club, so I wanted to take my involvement a step further and run for vice president. I’m so grateful to be the current vice president of the club.”

Leaders were asked how they prioritized the following goals: Drive membership, pursue people who want to be super involved, create an atmosphere and place where people can break from existing friend groups and expand their social circle, bring people together who share a common passion or interest and create or lead an impressive Club for College Admissions.

For Kaplan, the primary goal is to drive membership and gain traction for this brand new endeavor whereas for Riley, he’s most interested in creating a connective community for people who share this passion for ASL and the deaf community. Wong and Eulmi seek highly active members. 

“This club is for you if you have strong motivations to connect those in different communities and to spark inspiration and passion in others,” said Wong.

Motivated to create a ripple effect of good in the world, Young needs numbers for her club. 

“My biggest plans for this club this year is to make students realize the importance of helping the community and also for them to be more aware of what surrounds them in not just their personal lives, but their society as well,” Young said. “I feel like this is a crucial thing to realize because not a lot of young adults/teenagers realize the reality of this world. By volunteering, doing community service, and helping the society, students will get that sense of reality. Exposures to these things are very important and I believe that through our club, we will be able to accomplish all of this.” 

Escamilla is looking for passionate participation and involvement. “I want there to be more investment and for everyone to look forward to every meeting! I hope to continue having our guest speakers and begin expanding our activities, whether it be through games, mini labs, etc.,” she said.

One thing is certain: the club leaders are super motivated to inspire, expand and engage members. Whether it be academic or purely for fun, there appears to be a common denominator where leaders aim for a beautiful blend of meaningful fun.