Aragon offers over 70 clubs open to lots of different students with different passions. These clubs are a chance to connect students to peers based on shared interests. Every semester, new clubs are created and showcased to students. Many new, and returning clubs, are starting up this spring.
Freshman Amora Grover founded the Youth Chapter Club this semester, which plans to run charity events to help disabled and socioeconomically disadvantaged people in India.
“I hope that this club spreads awareness [about disadvantaged people in India] and I’m able to reach my goal to fundraise enough money and supplies for this cause,” Grover said.
Youth Chapter Club also plans to help shelters and charities for the homeless and other people in need.
“Most of the money [we raise] goes to helping people in India that need supplies,” Grover said. “[We also fundraise for [local] homeless shelters.”
Another new club that is coming to Aragon is the Cycling Club, founded by freshman Benjamin Ziskind.
“I start[ed] this club to build a strong community centered around athletics and hands-on skills,” Ziskind said. “I want to build an inclusive environment based around sports and team leadership, [and] to build stronger mechanical skills within our student body.”
Stronger mechanical skills, safety sessions and engineering are some areas the Cycling Club will center around this spring. These skills will help build a stronger student body of cyclists. They also plan to work with different organizations and nonprofits such as International Mountain Biking Association and Bay Area Bike Project.
““I know that there are a lot of people who enjoy baking, but they don’t get a chance to demonstrate their skills”
Baking Club, started by sophomore president Kaylie Wong and sophomore vice president Phoebe Taylor, will help people dive deeper into the science of baking and express their creativity.
“I hope that this club will teach people different techniques in baking and how baking is a way to show your love for somebody,” Taylor said. “I would like to teach people how small tweaks in your recipes can really make a big difference and how the way you use an ingredient can really affect its flavor and outcome.”
For those that are concerned about having no prior knowledge with a specific club there is no experience necessary to join.
“I think this club will be different because Aragon doesn’t have any baking clubs or cooking clubs,” Taylor said. “I know that there are a lot of people who enjoy baking, but they don’t get a chance to demonstrate their skills.”
New clubs are challenged with gaining members, funding, marketing themselves and maintaining basic interest.
“I think the difficulty is mainly outreach and getting people to stay in the club once they’ve joined,” Taylor said. “They might join and then decide that they aren’t really interested anymore and it can be hard to get people to stay interested.”
“I think the biggest challenge will be marketing this club to people outside and just having people [be] open to joining and learning”
Ziskind had similar concerns about Cycling Club.
“I think the biggest challenge will be marketing this club to people outside and just having people [be] open to joining and learning,” Ziskind said.
The new lineup of clubs will open the door to opportunities to help students gain skills, perfect their passions and make connections with their clubmates.
These clubs, along with more new and returning clubs, will start in February after the Aragon Student Body approves new clubs.
*An earlier version of this article did not include both founders of Baking Club. It has been corrected to include both Phoebe Taylor and Kaylie Wong.
