Why do students join clubs? What are their motives/incentives?
Obviously, clubs and extracurricular activities look spectacular on college resumes, but what else? Why else would you want to participate?
Well, for starters, extracurriculars give you a break. They give you a time period to hang out with your friends while also benefiting you in multiple aspects.
Social: They affect you in the social aspect in the sense that you can meet new people, and grow your confidence and communication/relationship skills along with your collegiality with peers. Most also offer the ability for leadership positions along with membership.
Emotional: These out-of-school activities can give you a break from school, and your stressful schedule. They can allow you to spend some time with friends and new people, letting your mind relax. When you relax even just slightly, it can make your whole day and schedule easier.
Physical: Doing sports and activities of that nature can be a great way to gain everyday skills while also staying fit and healthy. You can get all of the same benefits from athletic clubs and plus an added bonus of physical activity that you can from any other club.
Academically: Our school has many options for academic clubs that students can partake in. These can help you keep up your grades and get help with topics that you are struggling with in your classes.
Students’ answers to the questions: What clubs are you currently involved in? What made you want to join them/ did you have a specific reason or was it something spontaneous and random? :
Janet Chung, Freshman, answered “I am currently in NTHS, Key Club, and Mu Alpha Theta. I joined them because they all seemed interesting to me and I was passionate about them. I always wanted to join Key Club because they are service-oriented and I wanted to make a difference in my community. I joined NTHS because it seemed really interesting to me, and I joined Mu Alpha Theta because I was passionate about math.”
Jadalyn Alava, Junior, told me that “I am currently an officer for Key Club. I joined last year because I wanted to be more involved with the school and my community. Key Club is all about service, I loved being a member so much that I decided to apply to be an officer. I love Key Club because I get to do what I love and have fun with my friends every day.”
NTHS is an honor society that is focused on technology. Mu Alpha Theta is a math tutoring club and honor society. These clubs showcase what good students can do just within their school. Everyone’s reasoning for joining clubs will be different but essentially there are some common similarities.
When we think about clubs the majority of the time people don’t think about the real why. The reason behind the reason. Most people join a club because “it looks cool” or “it will look great on college admissions” but no matter what we do there will always be a subconscious and psychological reason for everything that we do.
