20 High School Clubs to Build Your Resume

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Extracurricular activities will offer some of the greatest challenges and rewards of your high school years. The goal for ECs is to explore your interests while building skills that will help in college and your future career.

One great way to get involved is to start a club. If you think starting a club might be right for you, check out our list of 20 great clubs that you could bring to your school.

20 Great Clubs to Found at Your School

1. American Red Cross

The American Red Cross intervenes to prevent and relieve suffering around the globe, with volunteers carrying out 90% of humanitarian aid. Learn more about how to get involved by visiting their website.


2. Amnesty International

This U.S. based non-profit is dedicated to defending human rights for everyone on the planet. Learn how you can increase awareness and organize support at your high school by visiting Amnesty International’s website.


3. Days for Girls

Days for Girls provides menstrual education and kits so women in developing countries can take care of their bodies and play a more active role in local enterprises. Fundraising for kits and education programs is the best way for high school groups to get involved.


4. Envirothon

Envirothon is dedicated to teaching young people the best practices of natural resource management. The regular competitions foster a friendly environment in which to tackle complex resource management decisions.


5. Future Farmers of America (FFA)

FFA inspires the next generation to lead, grow, and innovate in the agricultural sciences. Look for ways to connect your high school with this broader movement by visiting the FFA website.


6. Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA)

HOSA‘s two-fold mission is to enhance the delivery of quality health care to all to promote career opportunities in the healthcare industry. High school groups educate peers about health care career opportunities and best practices in the local community.


7. Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps (JROTC)

JROTC prepares high schoolers for military service, fostering wellness, academic achievement, character, and leadership along the way. If you have ever considered serving your country, look into creating a JROTC program at your high school.


8. Key Club

Key Club creates opportunities for high school students to serve and explore their community, with a focus on building leadership skills. Unlock the door to service, leadership, and character by starting a Key Club at your school.


9. Leadership, Experience, Opportunity (LEO)

LEO clubs create social service opportunities to foster leadership and a service-oriented attitude among high schoolers. You can learn more about LEO by visiting their “Discover our Clubs” webpage.


10. Mu Alpha Theta (MATH)

MATH clubs exist to inspire interest in mathematics and sharpen students’ quantitative skills. To promote a lifelong love of math on your campus, start a MATH club!

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11. National Federation of Music Clubs (NFMC)

The NFMC increases music awareness and education, creates performance opportunities, and promotes local and national music organizations. If the music industry is your passion, consider partnering with the NFMC.


12. Quill and Scroll

Quill and Scroll is an international high school journalism honor society. If you are interested in pursuing a career  in Journalism or increasing your journalistic perspective, this may be the club for you. According to the Quill and Scroll website, over 14,104 high schools in all 50 U.S. states and 44 countries have established local chapters.


13. Science National Honor Society (SNHS)

SNHS builds up a future generation of STEM industry leaders. If you like to spend your free time delving deep into the world of scientific inquiry, learn more about SNHS.


14. Smile Club

Having a cleft condition dramatically increases a child’s chances of dying before they reach adulthood, but with surgery this risk goes away. Operation Smile coordinates volunteers, donors, and staff to bring these surgeries to as many communities in developing nations as possible.  Learn more by visiting the Operation Smile website.


15. Sociedad Honoraria Hispanica

Talented high school students enrolled in Spanish or Portuguese are eligible to join Sociedad Honoraria Hispánica. If you love Spanish or Portuguese and want to become more involved in the language, look into opening a chapter at your school.


16. SourceAmerica

SourceAmerica’s High School Design Challenge gives high school students the opportunity to create real-world solutions that will have an impact on people with disabilities in their own community. Learn more about SourceAmerica’s high school programing by visiting their webpage for high schoolers.


17. Technology Student Association (TSA)

The Technology Student Association exists to develop high schoolers’ skills in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and business education. If you want to learn more about STEM skills and careers, visit the TSA website.


18. Technovation

Technovation offers girls around the world the chance to grow as future tech leaders and entrepreneurs. Girls are given the chance to identify a problem in their community and solve it using technology.


19. United States Chess Federation (USCF)

Whether you are a novice or chess master, USCF opens the door to dozens of competitions and education opportunities to improve your game. To learn more about starting a USCF club at your school, visit the USCF website today.


20. YMCA Youth and Government

The YMCA’s Youth and Government program creates model governments for high schoolers nationwide. Join a movement decades in the making by visiting the Youth and Government webpage.


What should I do if these already exist or don’t appeal to me?

These national and international organizations do offer a lot of support to first-time club founders, but you don’t need a parent organization to start a club of your own. Check out our article on how to pursue non-traditional extracurricular activities.

If you want the experience of founding a club but don’t know how to start, simply…

Identify an interest of yours or a problem that needs solving.
Talk about it with your friends to drum up interest.
Connect with your high school’s main office to learn its process for authorizing a new club.
Publicize your first meeting.
Continue to build your vision, adapting based on club member interests.

Founding a club can be tremendously rewarding, since you get to watch your peers grow in an area you love. Good luck!