On Club Day Sept. 7th, 2023, Kozuki Stadium was filled with eager students waiting to sign up for clubs that represent their many interests. These clubs could lead to lifelong passions and help students make everlasting friendships. All the clubs were lined up in a particular order. On the far right side, there were the academic clubs. The middle of Kozuki Stadium was filled with all the interest clubs, and the service clubs were on the far left. Every table had posters decorated with pictures to advertise each club. Students had the opportunity to sign up for over 90 clubs at Club Day.
One of the interest clubs we looked at was the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) club. The club’s advisor Ms. DeBevoise is excited to teach D&D to new people that are interested. “D&D is all about having fun, and it is a great way to escape reality,” she says. The D&D club usually meets once a week, unless there’s a large event. It offers many opportunities to those who are excited to participate in the D&D community.
There are also many academic clubs that are promoted during club day. These clubs often participate in educational competitions with other schools.
One academic club we got to speak with was MathCounts. MathCounts is led by Mr. Guillou, Mrs. Sakaguchi and Ms. Nagoshi. MathCounts is a club where students practice math, promote math and compete in local competitions. “[People join MathCounts] because they either want to improve their math skills, challenge themselves, or they just love math,” Mr. Guillou says. The MathCounts team meets once a week, except for competitions, where they meet two to three times a week. MathCounts is a great way for student mathematicians to gather together as a team.
Service clubs are a terrific way to support the local community. Clubs such as Key Club, ʻIo Farms and Beach Clean Up Club encourage students to help those in need. They teach students to help the community without asking, to help those in need, and to do good things with nothing in return. Service clubs coordinate locally beneficial events such as feeding the homeless, caring for the old and cleaning the environment.
We interviewed the Raiders for Wounded Warriors Club, which is a club that supports veterans that have been wounded or hurt in combat and their families. Many people join (Wounded Warriors) because they have military ties. “I myself have a father and grandfather in the military,” said the club’s leader, Luca Pastor ’24. “Other reasons people join are because students want to get the opportunity to support the military and to get to know their families.”Raiders for Wounded Warriors usually meets once a month. Raiders for Wounded Warriors is a great way to provide the military community with the support and care that they deserve.
There were so many incredibly interesting clubs on Club Day. Each one of the 90+ clubs serves an important purpose in the ‘Iolani community. Learning about the experiences of those who do and run clubs makes us appreciate the effort and time that is put in by the student leaders and advisors. In all, Club Day is a remarkable event that can kickstart students’ passions and create long-standing friendships.
