Club Leaders at NSA
By Joseph P.
NSA offers many excellent and unique ways to engage with the community and become more involved in student leadership. One of these opportunities is to become a club leader. Students in this position coordinate, oversee, and are regularly active in the club they lead. But what exactly are these leaders required to do, and what are some benefits of becoming a club leader?
Community Engagement:
Being a club leader involves being active in the club for at least one to two hours per week. Club leaders must also post at least once weekly and host a monthly club call to encourage activity and interaction among members. Although these requirements may seem like additional work, this time is mainly spent setting up fun activities and facilitating discussions among the community.
It should be viewed as less of a responsibility and more as a way to discuss interests students have in common with others. In the words of John, one of the Sports & Fitness Club leaders at NSA, “Being a club leader is a lot of fun because it helps me interact with other NSA students in an environment that is focused on my interests and hobbies.”
Most importantly, students do not have to undergo this process alone. They can apply to lead a club that is not already being directed by contacting the StuCo Club Coordinators. These StuCo officers can aid students and answer questions or concerns they may have to maintain a safe and interactive environment.
Benefits of Club Leadership:
Interacting with the community and getting to know new people are among the significant advantages of being a club leader, but there are others. Some additional benefits include gaining leadership experience to be eligible for future StuCo positions, forming lasting friendships by bonding over shared interests with other students, and building character through serving the community.
Rayna, one of the leaders of the Creative Writing Club, expressed the benefits of club leadership by saying, “...It was really helpful in making new friends! Almost all the people I currently talk to are from the club. I met everyone from bonding over common interests.” These aspects can be helpful for career and life readiness as they give students experience collaborating with others and stepping out of their comfort zone to build confidence and crucial social interaction skills.
Leadership in a Biblical Context:
Along with these aspects of leadership, interacting and serving fellow Christians are essential biblical values. As Colossians 3:23-24 states, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving” (BibleGateway).
Here at NSA, volunteer and servant leadership correspond to the fifth Expected Student Outcome (or ESO), which expects students to be role models who compassionately serve others (NorthStar Academy). These values are an essential part of what makes NSA’s community unique, as they allow students to interact with others while exhibiting biblical and core student values.
These values and benefits make club leadership a unique and worthwhile experience at NSA, allowing students to collaborate, learn, and serve others.
Columns: 🏘️Clubs 🧑🚀NSA Culture
Joseph P. lives with his parents and an older sibling in Arizona, USA. He is new to writing for the Navigator this year, but this is his third year at NorthStar. In his free time, he enjoys playing video games, reading books, and collecting United States coins. He hopes to become a computer hardware engineer in the future.