Tomball High School has a large assortment of clubs and after school programs to appeal to the interests of all students. With activities ranging from various sports and fine arts, there seems to be something for everyone to do. While it’s true that school activities are not only focused in sports and music, many who want to be involved in art, literature, and religion feel left behind.

“I’m just not interested in the clubs we already have,” Sophomore Carol Lopez, who is interested in creating an anime club, said.

While it may not seem like it, this is a common problem. Students want to participate in clubs and after school activities, but they just can’t find a topic that they can relate to. What can students do to fix this problem? Create a new club.

Creating a new club may seem like a daunting task, but it is way easier than it seems.

The first thing that must happen to start a club is creating a clear focus and establishing the educational value of the new organization. This may seem like a problem at first, but it is amazing how easy it is to tie activities to school.

“At first I was worried about how we could justify anime as a school appropriate topic, Lopez said. “It turned out that it was extremely easy. I mean, there is literature, creative writing, art, research. Just the fact that you have to learn to work with everyone in the same project…should be enough on its own.”

After the plans are established, a teacher must be deemed the club sponsor in order for it to be approved.

After a teacher accepts to sponsorship, a form has to be filled out. The form asks simple questions such as the name of the sponsor, the goal of the club, the standards/rules the club will follow, and signatures of at least five people that want to join. Forms can be picked up from the front office.

The last step is waiting. The process takes around four weeks before a new club gains approval, but in some cases the waiting period is even longer than that.

“I hated the waiting so much. Other than actually having the valor to ask random people if they wanted to join our club and talking to the intimidating people in the main office, the waiting for an answer was the hardest part,” Carol confessed.