On August 31, CVHS held an annual club fair with over 90 club displays. Club leaders set up tables with trifolds and candy, pitching their clubs to prospective members. The fair serves as an opportunity for students to find people with similar passions as them, while also being a recruitment opportunity for clubs.

Most clubs can be divided into three categories: interest, discussion, and competition-based clubs.

CVHS offers an abundance of clubs that allow students to explore new hobbies or find communities of similar passion. Newer clubs of this division include Girls Who Code, Botany Club, CVHS Sports Statistics Club and more.

This year, Chords for Change was co-founded by sophomores Alex Du and Andrew Lee.

“We want to give musicians opportunities to use their talents to make a difference,” said Du. “The club gives its members chances to perform for those in hospitals and retirement homes.”

However, Lee admits that their club may not be the most practical in the medical sense.

“While we recognize that a high schooler’s rendition of ‘Clair de Lune’ isn’t going to cure cancer or anything, we hope that it’ll at least make listeners feel a bit happier, and maybe brighten their day,” Lee said.

“Our purpose is to get out there and take anyone regardless of their experience with astronomy and science. We want to go and take someone who thinks stars are pretty, or someone who, on the opposite end of the spectrum, thinks they want to be an astrophysicist and really show them the beauty of astronomy,” said Nathaniel Barnett, senior and co-president of Astronomy Club.

While fellow Co-President Diksha Chaurasia has wanted to be an astrophysicist for a long time and Barnett does not have any intention of going into an astronomy-related job, both highlight the inclusivity of clubs offered. Regardless of their level of passion, anyone with an interest in astronomy is welcome to join.

Some students are working hard to make an impact by spreading knowledge on topics CVHS courses may not offer.

“I want to just create a club at Carnegie to sort of highlight those important parts of investing and make sure people have a solid foundation, because digital finance may ultimately be our future economy,” Anjali Martinez, president and founder of Women in Investing Technologies (WITS) said.

On top of learning foundational skills in web history and digital finance, WITS teaches its members financial literacy and investment tactics in hopes that they’ll be of use in the future.

Some discussion clubs, like debate, have a competitive nature.

“Debate teaches students argumentative skills that you can apply to all aspects of your life and improves your critical thinking skills,” said senior Neel Maddali.

Riot Club was reinstated after an initial disbanding of the original club.

“We hope to educate and create a safe space for people. A lot of times I feel, especially in a school that’s very STEM heavy, there can be a lot of unintentional sexism that occurs,” Co-President Nicki Anahita said.

Members can expect to participate in discussions, watch media and participate in the creation of the club’s zine, called Revolution.

CVHS also has many race/ethnicity-based groups, such as Multiracial Student Association, Chinese Dragons, Black Student Union (BSU) and Indian Student Association. Although such clubs seem to be marketed towards a specific audience, everyone is welcome to join.

Additionally, other clubs, such as HOSA – Future Health Professionals, provide students with the ability to take what they learn inside or outside the classroom and apply it to a competitive scene, where they’re able to put their knowledge of health and biomedical science to the test.

The competitive scene also includes STEM clubs like Science, Biology, or Chemistry Olympiad.

“It’s about letting people who are interested in science and STEM be able to explore that interest,” senior Sophia Dai said. “It’s also about collaborating with other people.”

Senior Annabelle Li-Kroeger, co-captain of Name That Book, said their club is a fun way to discover new books. Name That Book also exposes members to social issues and grounding points of view.

“We always place really well, so I guess on college apps that’ll probably look pretty good,” said Li-Kroeger.

Whether through competition, discussion or other means, students are allowed to learn together, make memories and introduce other peers to new skills and concepts to which they may not have previously been exposed.

“[Clubs] are a necessary experience because it helps you grow as a person and also helps you help other people,” said freshman John Sharp.

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Jeffrey Qi, Lolita Chowdhury and Diksha Chaurasia representing Biology and Chemistry Olympiad.