Clubs and extracurricular activities are a vital part of student life at Creighton Prep. According to Creighton Prep, 90% of students are involved in at least one club or activity, and with nearly 60 clubs planning on advertising themselves at the Activity Fair tomorrow, it’s fair to say club life at Prep has never been more alive. 

But last year, the club scene wasn’t even close to as active as it is now. Due to COVID restrictions, many clubs had to limit their meetings and activities, and had to meet online or painstakingly keep track of student contact tracing. However, now that many of these restrictions have been eased up on or eliminated due to the distribution of the vaccine, club activities are back with a vengeance to make up for lost time.

Many clubs, like the academic competition clubs and sports clubs, are planning to schedule many more competitions and events this year, increasing their activity. Band and choir are doing the same, and many clubs are planning to be a lot more active in their meetings now that they are free of COVID restrictions.

However, there is one problem. Due to the risks of COVID last year, many students decided to not participate in club activities and didn’t participate in many club meetings or activities. Most clubs are actively searching for more members in order to increase the participation rates in their club activities. They see tomorrow’s activity fair as a big chance to recruit much needed new members after last year’s drought in participants. 

“It’s nice to know that this year we can be all back.” says Mrs. Sara Smith, Creighton Prep’s Activity Director.

 Smith is in charge of organizing this year’s activity fair and has made applying and joining clubs amazingly easy and accessible this year. Starting at 7:30 on Wednesday, in the Heider Center, there will be close to 50 tables around the gym, each advertising one or more clubs. On each club’s table will be a QR code which will direct students to a Google form for quick signups when scanned. Club moderators like Mr. Paul Lawler of the Operation Others club and Movie Club are especially excited for this quick way of signing up. 

“I think the online sign up that Mrs. Smith created is really nice,” Lawler said. “Students can see all of the different clubs they can sign up for and quickly choose which ones they want to join.” 

It’s not only moderators and teachers that are pumped for the resurgence of regular club activities. Students are also hyped to be able to compete and meet regularly again. 

Senior Michael Marar is pumped for the return of the debate team this year. Last year all debate competitions were held online, and the debate team had problems meeting in person. 

“Clubs let people hone their skills, get people open to other activities, and let people make new friends.” Marar said. “I’m definitely looking forward to clubs this year.”

Club activities are back and better than ever this year. If you missed out on participating in a club or are a new student looking for a place to make friends and have fun, be sure to come down to the activity fair in the Heider from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. tomorrow morning. With Prep’s large and diverse number of clubs, there’s sure to be something for everyone!