Joining a new club, or sports team may be scary, but it can make some of the best memories throughout your high school years. Getting involved can help build many new skills, help you meet new people and it can help you figure out what activities you truly love to do. OHS offers many opportunities, like the debate team, AVID, HOSA, tutoring, etc.

With OHS having many extracurricular activities, students should take advantage of them. Some students are involved in many clubs and teams, while others stick to just sports. This is what Neptune Andrade is involved in: “As of right now, I am doing JV level Lincoln Douglas Debate, I’m also in Skills USA and running the film club.”

Other opportunities offered for students that they’ve taken advantage of are AVID and HOSA. “This school year, I have joined AVID, which I think is a really good class the school offers, I joined HOSA, which is a really good club the school offers in my opinion, and I am thinking about trying out for soccer in the spring,” says Paola Hernandez.

Students are often inspired to join clubs and sports to connect with others who share the same passions, while others are inspired by celebrities who have the same interests. This is Josue Escalon’s primary reason for joining the sport he is in: “I fell in love with the sport of soccer at such a young age, and it’s because of a player I really admire. Cristiano Ronaldo is the primary reason why I chose to play soccer. I wanted to be like him; he motivated me to become better, be more confident, and his discipline taught me to keep going even when things don’t work out the way you want them to.”

Though being in a club or sport can be fun, they take some time out of students’ days since it is after school and they have practice. Some students may be able to manage it, while others may find it hard and struggle with managing their time. This is what Brittani Morales said, ” I’m still able to focus a lot more and still get school work done on time, doing a sport actually makes me excited to go to school and do work, get it done, and have fun at practice.” While Brittani is able to balance her school work and her extracurricular activities, this is Josue Escalon’s take on it, “It’s hard being able to balance my school to soccer because it doesn’t it doesn’t give me much time to finish my work, but I would recommend creating a schedule since its really effective and It could impact the amount of time you can get.”

Some students have also created new clubs or wish there was a new opportunity here at OHS. Neptune Andrade says, ” I think they should start a cooking or philosophy club. I think those would be really fun, or maybe something like in fashion design and making your own clothes.” Though managing a club can be hard, this is some advice from Neptune Andrade, “I would say get a teacher to help you and support you throughout the steps of having your own club for the first time.”

What clubs or other extracurriculars do you think OHS should add? Tell us in the comments!