One of the numerous extracurricular activities that high school offers is being president of a club. Other forms of leadership consist of being vice-president, manager, secretary and many more. While leading a club can come with delights and obstacles throughout its course, students are given an opportunity to grow as an individual, help others, attain more capabilities and prepare for the future.

Several clubs at Wakefield that offer these leadership roles are Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA), National Art Honor Society, Future Farmers of America (FFA) and Asian Culture Club.  Leaders in these clubs are tasked with being reflective as they organize club members in making meaningful contributions throughout the year.

“I wanted to be able to help guide my fellow members in a direction of success and organization,” senior and FBLA President Emily Naranja said. “[Leading FBLA] was also a great way for me to improve my own skills and knowledge.”

The members of FBLA, work together to enhance their business skills as they participate in various competitive events. Events range from business ethics and coding to social media management. Naranja describes the feelings that are radiated from leading FBLA. 

“It is so much fun and truly rewarding,” Naranja said. “The members of the club are all so genuine and driven that it makes it easy to communicate and have fun with everyone.” 

Presidents of these after-school clubs generally have specific tasks they must get done to ensure all the activities run effectively. Atmaja Lohar is a senior and the president of National Art Honor Society. As president, Lohar has a unique set of responsibilities.

“I make sure everyone is on schedule, [I] assign tasks and ensure they run smoothly, and communicate with everyone that is involved,” Lohar said.

Sara King is a fine arts teacher and National Art Honor Society advisor. She shares how being in a leadership role can encourage a student to channel their inner creativity.

“I see that [the students] are brainstorming with each other and when we start out the year, they are so enthusiastic and optimistic that, that is when all these great ideas just start flowing,” King said. “You can see they get more and more excited because they are the ones that get to pick these activities, and build them to what they want them to be.”

The Asian Culture Club is an organization where members unite to be educated about the many different Asian cultures that all lie in one continent. Members are educated together through fun, interactive games and food. 

Juniors Huy Tran and Nhan Tran are co-presidents and founders of the Asian Culture Club who elaborate on why they wanted to lead this particular club.

“We wanted to learn more about different Asian cultures, there are so many that we do not know about,” Nhan Tran said. “Through all the research and planning, we get to learn so much and we just wanted to share that with everybody, spread awareness and have fun.” 

For these club presidents, the members are always top priority. It is constantly taken into thought how everyone in the group is going to have fun and learn at the same time.

“We don’t want a boring environment, we are always thinking about how to make [the club] fun, how to make it interactive, how to keep the energy up,” Nhan Tran said. “That is our main goal when it comes to membership.” 

One of the side effects that comes with leading a club is stress, as the student has to make time for other extracurriculars and classes simultaneously. 

“I have other clubs and hobbies outside of this club, [and] it gets challenging to balance all of that out,” Naranja said. “I am also in some more challenging classes which take up some time.” 

Nevertheless, leading a club in high school can be seen as significant for a student as it helps them acquire life and leadership skills that can be beneficial for their future. Brooklyn Talbert is a senior and the president of FFA. She explains how her position in this club is preparing her for later on in life. 

“If you take the club out of it and just think about the core values of being a president of any club, a lot of those same values go into the workplace,” Talbert said. “Having good communication skills, being able to work with a team, being a good listener; all the qualities that I’m getting from being a part of this club and being president of it will hopefully help me more in the future.” 

Overall, the leaders of these clubs are content with their positions. Being a president can be valuable and life-altering for a student who wants to leave behind a positive impact. 

“I absolutely love being a lead role,” Naranja said. “It truly has changed my high school career and life for the better and I wouldn’t change anything about it.”