How to Start Your Own Great Club in High School

Joining clubs and getting involved is a big part of high school. But what do you do if the club you want to join isn't offered? Start one yourself! Here's how.

So you want to start your own club at your high school. This is so exciting! Not only does starting a club look good on your college applications, but it can seriously teach you so many things about leadership, coordination, and teamwork. Here’s how you can get started in this endeavor and have a great time doing it.

Starting your club

First of all, you need to be passionate about your club and its mission. If you’re not, the club’s success will quickly decline. Some common clubs in high school include Junior State of America (JSA), LA Times, Mock Trial, HOSA, Key Club (Kiwanis), Interact, Future Business Leaders of America, etc. These clubs have a lot of national or local support, so starting one might be less intimidating. For example, JSA is a youth-led, nationally recognized club, meaning there are many people willing to assist you, providing you with a strong foundation. HOSA, Kiwanis, and LA Times are similar. To start one of these chapters at your school, reach out to these organizations at the beginning of the school year or even late in the summer. You can send a direct message on Instagram to one of their accounts or contact them through the email provided on their website. 

Finding advisors and members

Once they give you some basic information, find an advisor. Usually, schools don’t allow student clubs to exist without an advisor, so find a teacher who would be willing and is as passionate about the club as you are. For most student clubs, advisors are simply there to sign forms and provide a classroom. Ask a teacher who’s open-minded and not too stressed or busy, and be sure to emphasize how much commitment you’ll need from them. Next, you need to recruit people to join your club. This is always the hardest part. You need to get your peers excited and make them want to join your club. Ask your friends, friends of friends, classmates—anyone. Ask teachers you have good relationships with to advertise the club in their classes. You can also ask your school announcements, counselors, or school newspaper to help you advertise your new club. Get creative with recruiting—the larger your club, the better experience it will be.

Related: How to Discover and Pursue Your Passions as a Student 

Building off and sustaining your foundation

A strong foundation means you have a decent number of people in your club, reliable leaders, and a clear vision. After you have at least seven to 10 people signed up, assign leadership roles to members you trust, as it’s very difficult to do everything by yourself. You can do this however you like; you can have a vice president, secretary, treasurer or chief of staff, sergeant at arms, and battalion chief. Don’t fear that assigning roles is undemocratic—you want the club to be successful, so give roles to people who are hardworking and reliable. A democratic process so early may result in a popularity contest, which can hurt the club’s success. Before you hold any meetings, ask yourself where you see the club at the end of the semester. Do you see an increase in club members? Do you have projects you want to successfully complete? Are you going to have a specific, large-scale meeting or event to round out the year? Make sure you know where you’re trying to take your club and how you’ll do it.

Scheduling meetings

Once you’ve had a couple meetings, you’ll learn who the committed members of the club are and who’s just there because they have nothing better to do or need extracurriculars on a résumé. Sometimes clubs have a significant decrease in members as the days go by. To sustain the growth of your club, plan activities that require active participation from the members. Take suggestions from your peers; include them in the planning of activities and execute accordingly. If the first one or two activities are unsuccessful, don’t feel discouraged. It’s important to learn from your mistakes and keep going. You’re not expected to be perfect, but you are expected to keep trying. 

When your school has a lot of clubs

If you go to a large school, chances are the common clubs already exist. If you still want to start your own club, you need to get creative. I’ve seen clubs for investing/stock market (a great opportunity to learn about the market yourself), tutoring clubs, college advice clubs, essay/English homework clubs, computer coding, and more. You can start a club on CPR training (if you’re CPR certified), autism awareness, mental health, etc. Whatever it is, you just need to be passionate about it.

Related: Video: Get Involved: Unique Clubs to Join in School

Always remember to put your full heart into starting your club. The goal should be to make it last even after you leave high school. Gain traction by advertising as much as possible. There will be hurdles, but getting past them will be a learning experience that makes you a better leader. With passion, hard work, and planning, your club will be a success!

Want to learn more about student clubs and fun extracurriculars? Check out this CollegeXpress podcast episode for more information!

Like what you’re reading?

Join the CollegeXpress community! Create a free account and we’ll notify you about new articles, scholarship deadlines, and more.

Join Now

Tags:

About Srivarsha Rayasam

Srivarsha Rayasam is a current high school junior. She loves being busy and putting herself out there, so she’s always welcoming new opportunities to better herself as a student, citizen, and person. When she’s not immersing herself in schoolwork or organizing her schedule, she enjoys running and singing!

 

Join our community of
over 5 million students!

CollegeXpress has everything you need to simplify your college search, get connected to schools, and find your perfect fit.

Join CollegeXpress

College Quick Connect

Swipe right to request information.
Swipe left if you're not interested.

Delaware Valley University

Doylestown, PA


Sierra Carranza

Sierra Carranza

High School Class of 2022

I had absolutely no idea where I wanted to go to school; I was considering colleges in almost every state. CollegeXpress was an amazing resource and helped me compare all of my top schools. Without the help of CollegeXpress, I probably wouldn't have made such an informed and confident decision.

Tinuola Dada

Tinuola Dada

$2,000 Community Service Scholarship Winner, 2015

I am very excited to be this year's recipient of the Multicultural Student Community Service Scholarship. This scholarship will bring me ever closer to my academic and professional goals. CollegeXpress has been an exceptional resource to me, and I recommend it to all rising seniors as they begin to navigate the college application process.

Anthony Vidal

Anthony Vidal

High School Class of 2023

CollegeXpress has helped me in a series of different ways when it comes to finding scholarships and learning information about different universities. I actually found my dream university through CollegeXpress and am working on getting there.

Ruth Aguilar

Ruth Aguilar

High School Class of 2021

CollegeXpress helped me by providing me with many scholarship opportunities and information about universities I want to attend. What I love about CollgeXpress is how it provides a variety of information, and as the first child attending a university next year, it has been very essential and helpful. I’m so grateful for this because the information provided by CollegeXpress has also helped me see that there are so many college opportunities, and it always informs me by email. In other words, CollegeXpress has been like a guide for me as a future college student.

Damian Rangel

Damian Rangel

September 2021 Mini Scholarship Winner, High School Class of 2022

CollegeXpress has helped me tackle college expenses, which will allow me to put more of my time and effort into my studies without the need of worrying as much about finances.