Just over the last couple years, about 20 new clubs have come together inside the walls of RMHS. In total, there are about 70 clubs all listed on the school’s new webpage for clubs. Every fall, an activity fair takes place in the field house about a month or so into the school year, and the 2025 fair is just around the corner. Next Thursday during day 2 flex (October 16), the gym will be filled with tables and bustling students of all grades assessing the countless groups they can join, whether it’s to learn something new, add to a college resume, or simply spend time with like-minded people.
A common cause for many of these recent student-founded clubs is to fundraise for charity or volunteer at different organizations. Clubs like Leo Club, Kits for Kids, Smile for a Change, Rise Against Cancer, and Paws for a Cause all target different specific demographics such as children and animals, but have the same purpose: to build up the community around us. Some other newer clubs including Photography, Horror, Fashion, and Henna club come from shared interests amongst students, and have become relatively popular in the short time they’ve been established.
Two medical-related clubs have also formed this year, which is something we haven’t really seen at RMHS in the past. Medical Society founder Michelle Shikhanovich (’27) says, “There wasn’t a lot of activities regarding medicine here, and I really wanted to create a place where people could get together and learn about medicine.” Specifically at RMHS, Shikhanovich feels that there are plenty of clubs catering to other interests. “We have graphic design, we have computer science, we have a lot of engineering, but we have nothing medicine oriented … and I felt it necessary to have that.”
Junior Vivaan Tomar, member of Paws for a Cause, Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA), and numerous other clubs, spoke about his past experiences at the activity fair, explaining how he joined three new clubs last year that he would’ve never known about had he not been there. He advises newer students to go up to every table that strikes even the least bit of interest in order to find what you really like. He says, “And if you don’t like it, it’s fine, you know, because you don’t have to actually join the club and you can just put your name [down] and leave anytime you want.” Almost every club advisor agrees that it’s no problem if students initially sign up then back out after realizing it’s not for them.“It’s totally fine,” says Kai Richardson, president of Leo Club, “it’s not super high commitment.”
Although most clubs are very welcoming to new members throughout the entirety of the year, it tends to be much easier to find out about clubs and become a foundational part of them at the beginning of the year, and the activity fair is the perfect place to start.
