For incoming freshmen, entering high school can be daunting- especially at a school as large as Parkland High School. Trying to find your place among 3,200 other students feels almost impossible- not to mention adjusting to a new academic workload. Thankfully, Parkland’s activity involvement fair brings freshmen a way to find their place and activities they enjoy in their new environment.
On Friday, September 12th, the main gymnasium was cleared out to hold the annual PHS activity fair. Junior and senior club representatives set up tables with informational posters, flyers, and other displays with details regarding the clubs they represent. As the freshman students walked around the gym during their history classes, these representatives introduced them to their designated club and provided them with a way to get involved. Rather than just looking at a list of clubs and descriptions, the 9th grade students got to hear stories from upperclassmen about their own involvement in school clubs and the positive impact of remaining involved throughout their high school experiences. Gavin Sachse, Festival of the Arts club officer, shared, “It’s so cool to be working at the fair and sharing stories about my memories in FOTA with the ninth graders. It feels like just yesterday I was a freshman walking around the gym trying to figure out which clubs to join.” By the end of the day, each club’s sign up sheet was filled with names of freshmen excited to join a new club- making the fair a success.
Although the activity fair is catered towards freshmen, the event proved to be an exciting day for upperclassmen to learn more about their school and get involved as well. Between class periods, those running the club stands were able to walk around the gym and learn more about what other activities their school has to offer- or even join a new club. Grace Liersaph (12), said, “Even though I’ve been at the high school for four years, I saw some clubs at the fair that I didn’t even know our school had.” She continued, “It’s really cool to see just how many hobbies and interests people at Parkland have.”
The activity fair at PHS is a way for students and faculty alike to learn just how diverse the student body’s interests are- and just how many ways there are to get involved in them. The many activities the high school has to offer is just one of the many highlights of being a Parkland student.
