In the past four years, a fan bus has been offered every year for girls soccer games that play an important rule in their season. It has been cancelled each time. A dance has been threatened to be cancelled multiple times due to student’s not purchasing their tickets in time. Teams and clubs are losing members and having to recruit underclassmen.

With around 15 members in 2015, the Principal’s Advisory Committee has slowly lost members due to graduation. This year, the club has less than 10 members, including four officers, but continues to make decisions for the school to help improve the overall conditions.

Before they made their way to Hershey Stadium, the girls soccer team consisted of only 16 players. They later gained another three players halfway through the season due to injuries and not having enough healthy players.
One can blame the lack of participation on several different reasons such as the obsession of playing video games or doing other necessities like working. It could be hanging out with friends or just not having an interest. But shouldn’t getting involved allow for making new friends and new connections?

Alumnus Emily Allego was involved in several different activities during her time at FHS. She was a member of the Marching Band, Photography club, Spanish club, Print Media Workshop, Physics club and Naturalist club. Along with a variety of clubs, she was also an honor student and a member of National Honor Society while also working a part-time job. She felt that being involved in multiple activities in high school, allowed her to learn how to manage her time which benefited her in college.

“[Being involved] also helped with me meeting new people in college. You have to start over essentially and knowing how to talk to people is a great tool to have,” Allego said.

Involvement in school activities and teams allows one to prepare for life after high school. Juggling school work activities and a possible part-time job, can allow a student to learn time management, organization and planning skills that are useful for everyday life. It helps with socializing and networking which can help during a job search.

Working with others is a skill that everyone needs to learn. Delegating work while also collaborating to come up with new ideas can be found in almost all careers. Being involved in clubs can help improve those skills while also enjoying the common interests shared by members.

Focusing on learning and education is the main goal of school, but clubs and activities exist in order for one to extend their learning outside of the classroom. Learning new skills in Fortune 500 or trying a new sport can teach you things you’d never know about yourself. So, how do you plan to get involved?