Multi-colored posters, an assortment of candy, and the excited bubble of chatter filled the main quad as students advertised their clubs to an eager audience at MVHS’s semiannual club fair. At lunch on Jan. 14 and 15, MVHS clubs had the opportunity to showcase their work and recruit new students.

Junior Jordan Landaverde, an attendee at the fair, emphasized his interest in exploring a variety of clubs. 

“When you join new clubs, you make new relationships with different people and get to know different perspectives,” Landaverde said.

However, despite a common eagerness among the students to join clubs, many of the organizations said they still struggle with building a stable member base. Senior Maggie Wang, treasurer of the Ecology Club, highlighted the importance of the club fair in assisting her goal of recruiting passionate and dedicated members.

“We really need more members to join the ecology club,” Wang said. “We have a lot of events, but we don’t have enough membership.”

Sophomore Rosaling Tsai, president of the Stationary Club, was equally excited to spread awareness of her club’s mission at the fair, after facing a similar lack of membership as a newly established club. 

In addition to the potential for expanding general membership that many clubs typically look for, junior Landon Qizilbash, a producer for the annual TEDx event, said the club fair also offers the ability to recruit more “specialized” individuals. He emphasized their efforts to expand diversity, which differs from many other clubs that gather a community of people with similar interests and abilities. 

“We want to have a good team filled with people with different skill sets [instead of] just recruiting our previous speakers,” Qizilbash said. “We [hope to] diversify our board and get people from all around the school to come sign up, so that we can have a stronger team next year and a stronger event.” 

As the second semester is just beginning, these clubs are continuing to foster a community where students have the space to spread their passion and feel included.