Putting passion over paper in samo clubs
A club can be much more than just an extracurricular activity. Ideally, it’s a space for students to explore interests, build skills, gain responsibility, obligations and foster a sense of belonging. However, some students start passionless clubs with the sole purpose of enhancing their college applications. These clubs struggle to create meaningful experiences; so how do we as students know what makes a strong and effective club?
A strong club is built on authentic interest, active leadership and a clear purpose or mission. Regardless of it’s focus, a club driven by committed members will go beyond a good appearance on paper by leaving a lasting impact on the Samo community. Archie Windsor (’26) is a facilitator of Samo’s clubs and helps plan important events such as club row. He believes that the foundation for a useful club starts with passion and care.
“An effective club is one that people actually care about. It's not necessarily about how many people you have, it's if they're really dedicated to the club, that's what makes it effective,” Windsor said. “Members should make sure that it is something they're really passionate about and are willing to put time and care into.”
Samo is filled with over 100 clubs, the most prominent being clubs with devoted members working towards a collective goal. The SWAG (Student Wellness Advisory Group) club is a well-known club on campus run by Sadie Gryczman (’26) that advocates for mental health and creating a safe and supportive environment for students on campus.
“We make it a priority to be active on social media and work with other groups on campus, whether that’s other clubs, staff or students. We don’t only want to get our name out but we also want to collaborate with other people who share a common goal,” Gryczman said. “We consider our club a continuing conversation. We don’t just have one topic that we talk about each time, which really helps to keep people committed and engaged. ”
Similarly, the business club, run by Tess Sloan (’25) allows students to learn about different aspects of business such as entrepreneurship and finance. This club was started by Mason Arditi (’24) two years ago and was taken over by Sloan this year.
“To me, it’s important to bring my board together with helpful lessons. You shouldn’t just be thinking ‘Oh, we’re just a club trying to impress colleges!’ It’s actually bringing valuable lessons about different topics within the general idea of what your club is,” Sloan said. “In the business club, we focus on different fields in the business sphere like economics, accounting, finance and many others.”