Written by Anahitha Raffe Sofia
Starting a club at AK might seem like a huge and daunting task. The steps are jumbled up, no one gives clear instructions, yet everyone seems to have at some point tried to start one, which means it isn't as hard as it is made out to be! Let us break down the process today.
Decide what club you want to start - Please don't start a club just for your resume. Do it because you love the topic, are passionate about it, and are actually interested in finding like-minded people who want to connect with their kind and see what you have to offer. If you don’t, you will likely burnout and start finding it a chore to hold meetings and fulfill your responsibilities as a leader of a club. Ask yourself, “Will this make me happy? Does the thought of this club bring me joy? Would I run and skip to each meeting or slouch and grumble?”
Good examples of clubs: AK Paws, AK ASL, AK Fashion club, Math club, etc.
Bad examples of clubs: AK Chronicle ofc! - Nope I’m kidding. Just any club that doesn't hold meetings consistently, the meetings that are held don't have any content, the officers seem detached and don't care, etc. (This actually does fit the description of the AK Chronicle hmm...)
Find an advisor - This is the first and most important step! An advisor could be any teacher at AK. Make sure to find an advisor who suits your club’s purpose, is willing to vouch for you, and will be available after school! It will be no good if you start a club and the advisor backs out at the last minute.
Good example of an advisor: Is involved and interested in the club meetings! Replies to emails within a reasonable time frame! Is nice and has a roomy classroom.
Bad example of an advisor: Is not free after school because of other commitments. Cannot be present at meetings. Doesn't have a classroom (this could be fixed by booking different classrooms or the media center or cafeteria but it's just a hassle so not recommended)
Find officers - You need an officer board to start a club. There are 2 different paths for this. You can either just start a club with your TRUSTY RELIABLE friends, or you can open applications during the interest meeting or after approval.
Good examples of officers: People who will help you run the club, seem to be interested in it and don’t want it just for putting it on their resume.
Bad examples of officers: Your yolo-mindset friends, or people who obviously chatgpt-ed their application essays (Once again personal experience unfortunately. You wouldn't believe how stupid people think we are. Like literally the other day a response was so impressive that it felt off so I enter the prompt and get ALMOST WORD FOR WORD the same answer sooo…watch out.)
Hold an interest meeting! - You need to gauge interest for your club! You cannot have meetings if only 2 people show up (very personal experience again guys trust me). A good turnout is at least more than 20 people. Try not to lure people too much (like giving pizza or something at the interest meeting), as it will give a false sense of high interest when in reality most people just came for free food.
Example: AK India offered biryani at their interest meeting. Around 80 students (it felt like the entire school population though) swarmed upon the meeting. About 60 of those cared to fill the interest form. Around 40-50 showed up to the next meetings. That means only around half of them were actually interested in the club, while the other half came for the food. This highlights why it's important to gauge interest accurately. Clubs that get approved but have around 5 people show up for each meeting do exist. Don't become one of those. It's not fun.
Draft a constitution - A constitution is the framework for your club. It states your intentions, your rules, laws, delegations, etc for future generations to use. A good template to follow is having the topics as follows - Contact, purpose, club officers and their roles, elections, membership requirements, meetings, and amendments.
Example: AK Penpals Constitution
Sign up for slots - All that's left to do now is wait to sign up for petitions! The ICC opens up slots for new clubs to petition periodically (this year there were 2 - one in fall and one in spring). Check your school email, morning announcements, and the ICC website to find out when they open. Make sure to sign up as soon as they open as they fill up quickly.
Petition - Once you get a slot, prepare to petition by making a slideshow. As the ICC slideshow puts it, this is your ‘Shark Tank Pitch’ (if you are unfamiliar with this you are missing out). Talk about your club, why you wanted to start it, all the people who were interested in it, why it is beneficial, and your plans for the meetings and such. (Pro tip: AK loves cultural things, especially learning about cultures and traditions around the world. Use that to your advantage I guess? The cornier and sappier, the better.)
Example: AK India Club ICC Presentation
Wait for approval - Now you wait! They usually get back in a month or two! (hope the new ICC board over the years are faster) If you get approved, congratulations! If you didn't, don’t give up! You can petition again! Do not feel like your ideas and passions are unworthy - they absolutely are. Reflect on the experience and look to correct the mistakes you made the first time around. Good luck!
Hope this helped! Go chase your dreams! I believe in all of you.
Citations?: https://akhsicc.github.io/clubs.html
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