To prepare for Club Rush, clubs organized quickly after a COVID year where club attendance was low and meetings were online.

According to the US Census Bureau, 28% of American high schoolers participate in clubs, but to a viewer at club rush 2021, it would seem to be a larger percentage at ELHS. This is backed up by some of the sign-up numbers seen by EL Clubs: 51 for Key club, about 40 for Science Olympiad, for model UN, 60 for tech crew, and 66 for Latinix Student Union. 

Sydney Isham (11), joined Key Club, whose activities are based in community service, her freshman year. She saw it at club rush and  “thought it would look good on college applications”. Isham ended up loving it,  joined the executive board at the end of the year, and is now vice-president.

The club volunteered to read to children at the East Lansing Public Library, which Harper Wilkinson (11), another member, found very rewarding.

“Spending time in the library children’s children’s section is always fun and colorful”

And then COVID hit. 

The club met online, wrote some letters to essential workers, but they “didn’t really have a club last year.” Isham said. 

At the start of the 2021-2022 school year, getting the club organized in time for Club Rush was a struggle, especially since their staff advisor quit and they needed to find a new one between the first and second day of Club Rush. 

But they managed to pull it off. Isham made a poster after school on Sept. 8 and Wilkinson bought candy. During Club Rush, they accumulated 51 sign-ups.

The club plans to jump right back in this year, despite having an executive board whose oldest members are juniors, and whose last normal Key club experience was their freshman year.

“Are we under-qualified?” Isham said, “Yes. Are we winging it? Yes. Join our club? Yes.”