As kids, many of us had the dream of being president one day. Unfortunately, we are not allowed to run for president until we are 35 years old, and don’t even get me started on the process it takes to win. Long story short, becoming president of the United States is difficult, to say the least, and as high school students, something more attainable that could momentarily satisfy your dream would be becoming the president of a club on campus. There are two main ways to become the president of a club, neither way is particularly easier than the other.
The first is to join a club that already exists and work your way to the top. The first year you would join as a member, but then the next year you would be able to try out for a board/officer position. This way you would be working your way up the ladder and can try to become president by your third or fourth year in the club. However, there are risks with this method. You may be competing for the same board/officer positions as other students and may also have competition for president. Your president position can never be 100% secured using this method, but your odds are increased the more time and effort you put into the club. Every club has a different procedure when it comes to selecting the next year’s board and president positions. Sometimes it is a democratic vote amongst the members of the club, but more often than not it is an application, and sometimes interview, process where candidates are evaluated and chosen by the current president or current board members. If the current president is responsible for choosing next year’s president, they will choose the person who seems to care most about the club and has the necessary experience. Although the uncertainty is a drawback, the benefit of trying to be the president of an established club is that the club is likely well-known at school, so you will not have to work as hard to retain members. There will likely already be a procedure that presidents follow yearly in terms of what needs to be accomplished.
The second method is to create a club of your own that does not already exist at your school. For example, clubs surrounding a hobby, such as a chess club or crochet club, or a culture, such as a Chinese club, are often started by students every year. There is a process to get the club started; usually, a certain number of signatures and a teacher’s commitment to being an advisor is required. Once you satisfy all the initial requirements, you are the president of your own club! Sounds simple enough, but the hard part comes after. Now, you must foster member engagement and figure out activities to do throughout the year. The most difficult challenge for the president in this situation is to make sure to be consistent with club meetings; many clubs start the year off strong but eventually lose the motivation to keep going.
In addition to this second method, you can also start a club on campus that is a previously established nonprofit organization. Some popular examples include Future Business Leaders of America, Key Club, and Diversify Our Narrative. With these already-established organizations, there are usually guidelines required to start a chapter at your school that are located on their websites. There are benefits to starting a branch of an established organization as a club: it is likely well-known by students already and there will already be tasks and goals set by the organization for you to work towards.
No matter which method you choose to become the president of a club, beware of the responsibility it takes to run a club and make sure to make the club a top priority. The main tasks of a president include delegating tasks to all board members, leading board and chapter meetings, creating agendas and goals, and overlooking all board members. Justin Leong (12), the President of the Chinese Club at YLHS, shares that “Being president of the Chinese club helped me work on my problem-solving skills and helped me learn how to organize and distribute tasks rather than working by myself, which is what I am accustomed to.” Good luck to all of you future presidents out there!
