Summit has an array of activities, clubs and sports, but students, especially freshmen, don’t always know all that the school has to offer. That’s where the yearly Activities Fair, run by Student Council (StuCo), comes into play. Each year all different types of clubs and sports have the opportunity to set up tables for students to learn more, and hopefully get involved. This promotes the idea of community, which is the theme for the 2025-2026 school year.
Over the years, the Activities Fair has changed greatly, though StuCo sponsor Jill Ostmann said that it was around even when she attended Summit. She said that how it used to be run ended up being not very effective, so they switched it to make it more productive.
“We’ve done the Activities Fair since I can remember, when I was in high school. We switched it to during AcLab two years ago because it used to be after school and it was a sundae bar, and it turned into everyone just grabbing the treat and leaving, rather than learning about the club. So we moved it to AcLab to try to encourage people actually wanting to sign up and learn about the clubs,” Ostmann said.
President of StuCo, senior Moriah Hayibor, said that the Activities Fair really helps to spread awareness about what students can participate in at Summit.
“The whole purpose of [the Activities Fair] is just to show off clubs. I think it’s really helpful for especially freshmen, because they don’t know what all Summit has to offer, but it’s good for anyone. And it’s good for Student Council too, just to promote Student Council in general,” Hayibor said.
Ostmann believes that participating in something like a club or sport can help make it more enjoyable. She hopes that the Activities Fair can help students find something to make their time at school manageable.
“I want people to want to be at school, and so to do that, you have to feel a sense of community. And to feel [a] sense of community, you have to be involved in something outside of just the classroom. So [the goal of the activity fair is to] give people an opportunity to learn about an interest that they have, that other people have, meeting new friends, getting involved, feeling excited to be at Summit and be a part of something bigger than just you,” Ostmann said.
As a student, Hayibor also said that being a part of an activity can give you a better high school experience because of all of the benefits it provides, such as more to do in the community and more people that you could connect with.
“I think that if you participate in clubs, you will enjoy your experience in high school a lot more because it gives you something to do during AcLabs or outside of school, and it gives you opportunities to meet new people. So I think the activities fair is a great place to find what you’re interested in so you can find something to do that you like,” Hayibor said.
Getting students involved not only benefits them by making school more enjoyable, but it also connects with Summit’s theme for the school year, which is unity. Ostmann said that by getting the students to participate in activities, it can help promote more unity not only between students, but also with their teachers.
“With our theme of building more unity in our school this year, it’s important to have students get plugged in, and it allows teachers to connect with students on things that are not just classroom related. There [are] clubs that teachers can get kids to get started, and that’s something that they can connect on with a group of students,” Ostmann said.
Ostmann also said that seeing all of the students participate in the community brings her some joy as well, because she can see what their interests are and how they grow through that activity.
“My favorite part [of the activities fair is] probably hearing when people leave about how they found a new club to sign up for, or later in their high school career, they joined that club, and now they’re in charge of it, and they’re running things. I think that’s really sweet,” Ostmann said.
