Joining the Community

Maclay Interclub-Council Hosts Its Annual Club Fair

Photo by Brooke Nohle/Maclay Andalusian

While clubs are crucial elements of high school, finding the perfect club can be difficult, especially for new students. Lucky for those students, the Inter-Club Council (ICC) hosted an event to guide them in choosing the right club for each student. On Aug. 24, the upper school community gathered at the Cartee gym to get involved in the ICC fair, an annual event where a variety of Maclay clubs and organizations present their work and introduce themselves to get new members to join. Club officers, sponsors and members from 32 clubs worked together to inform students about why they should join their club.

“[The ICC fair] is a good opportunity to get students who are new and who may not know about a lot of clubs introduced to a lot of different clubs and [give them] opportunities to pursue [their interest] in high school,” senior Quincy Tutoring President Shiv Patel said.

During the ICC fair, clubs had an individual table where they displayed something special about themselves. While the National Art Honor Society showcased artwork produced by their members, Music Club had a performance with members singing and playing an instrument. Maclay’s literary magazine Notes from the Underground (NFTU) handed out previous issues and stickers created by editors and presented literary prompts to get students thinking about writing.

“The club NFTU is super important because it’s the only public outlet for the creative arts,” upper school English teacher and NFTU sponsor Craig Beaven said. “NFTU is a publication that captures what everyone is thinking and feeling, and it captures in a literary and artistic way, so it’s a really important voice for the upper school.”

After interacting with club officers and members, students were able to freely sign up for clubs of their interest on the sign-up sheet located at each table. Once officers and sponsors for each club complete the list of students signed up, students will be added to the group and begin participating in various club activities.

“I joined Mu Alpha Theta because it’s a good way to connect with other people in an academic environment,” junior Gavin Slocum said. “It [the ICC fair] was interesting and I was impressed with the enthusiasm every club had.”