Arlington High School has a large variety of clubs for students to participate in, but not all students are aware of them. Clubs like Spanish Club, Culinary Club, ASL Club, and even Nerd Club have a large number of members, but not all clubs get the spotlight they get.
FCA stands for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, which is a club where athletes of Christianity can get together as a community, pray, and grow closer.
“We meet together on Fridays, and we talk about the word of God and pray for each other,” says Liam Tolzman (9).
While the club doesn’t have an abundance of members, they still meet and have a wonderful time as a community, practicing their religion together.
“It’s a great way to meet new people, hang out, and get closer to God,” said Tolzman.
Another tight-knit community would be found in the Crafty Arts Club at AHS, which takes place in D214, Mrs. Copenhaver’s room, every Thursday after school.
“My favorite part of this club would be being a part of a community that a lot of people don’t get to see, and free food,” said Elizabeth Duncan (9).
The Crafty Arts Club is a group where anyone with an interest in the arts or some form of creation can go in and do such with other people who share the same interest.
“We crochet, we knit, we just started felting. We basically do any crafty hobby that you can think of,” said Duncan.
The group does not have a big group of people that attend, along with the Book Club at AHS. Book Club is a club where students get together to share the joy of reading with one another.
The club is not just free-reading, rather reading as a group and experiencing new things together.
“We try to read one or two books a month with different genres, so we can try new things,” said Brian Stewart (12).
Though the club mainly revolves around books and reading, members get along and bond over other things.
“I love the people in the club, we have created a community that I love being a part of, and we all just love talking with each other, even if it isn’t always about books,” said Stewart.
Some people do not participate in clubs because none of them have hobbies that spark their interest. Clubs like Interact focus on community service rather than a specific hobby.
Interact is an amazing way to give back to the community, being a club that works to do service projects around Arlington, despite not having a lot of members.
“This year we’ve done 2 fundraisers, one to raise money for “A Christmas wish” and one for the Arlington food bank. We also go to events with rotary, for example, we went with them to collect food for the food bank at Christmas time. We’re also planning and fundraising a service trip to Guatemala for next year,” said Ashlyn Huling (11).
Like most other clubs, even though the activities are not similar, Interact is also a group where people get along and friendships are formed.
“I’ve made several great friends through the club, as well as connections at rotary and the general Arlington community which has helped open up more opportunities,” said Huling.
While there are many clubs with many students that participate, FCA, Craft Arts, Book Club, and Interact are a few that do not have a large following, yet still have a great time. Clubs like such are what make AHS great, despite not getting the spotlight.
“Clubs create community, and I think it is important for everyone to have a pressure-free, safe space they can go to and hang out,” said Stewart.
