New year welcomes Business and Red Cross clubs

Junior Joseph Newcomer, who transferred from Normal Community his sophomore year, decided upon his arrival that U-High needed a business-oriented club. So he founded the Business Club.

This club of like-minded students aspires to learn more about the business world and pursuing a business career after high school. Joseph said it was hard to get the club started, initially, but once the word was out about meetings, the club took off.  

Finding a sponsor was essential, and Megan Fleri-Somers, an economics major from Illinois State University, was happy to help. Now, with meetings every Wednesday after school the library is full of eager students.

Guest speakers are one of the biggest attractions to the club. The students have met different local businesses owners such as Matthew Matigian and Todd Hovenden, CEO of an asset managment team and  owners of Biaggi’s.

Since Business Club is a student-run club, Newcomer hosts a vote to decide who the next speaker should be. Once it’s decided then the planning begins. Guest speakers and other activities have helped achieve the overall goal of business club.

“Business Club aims to bring in a range of prominent leaders and entrepreneurs in today’s community to share insight of their experiences and advice for the Business Club,” Newcomer said.

With this goal in mind, Newcomer hopes that the students participating in Business Club will take away experiences that can be incorporated into their own lives, whether those are study habits or advice given by the speakers.

Although Newcomer is a junior he plans on having another student take over the president position when he graduates in 2020 to make sure that the club remains for years to come.

Junior Shanley Kearny thought that there was a gap in opportunities offered here. That’s when she decided to form the Red Cross club. This wasn’t easy to do. After many phone calls with the National Red Cross and a lot of paperwork with the school the club was formed.

It is an extension of the National Red Cross and everyone in the club must be an official member of the Red Cross.

The club is able to use the official logo and fundraise for many different causes. For example, in the beginning of the year the club had a letter-writing party to send to kids in the hospitals. Kearny knew that the Red Cross was a big brand and knew it would draw people into the club.

As president of the club Kearny had to pick a sponsor for the club, and she asked social science teacher Kirsten Hany.

“She’s just amazing and there’s nobody else I would rather ask,” Kearny said.

The overall goal is for the club to grow larger and to continue over the years.

Every other Thursday the club meets to talk about fundraising, planning events, and exploring new ideas.

Kearny said she wants to make sure that during the meetings everyone is able to speak freely and share their input.

With Kearny graduating next year she plans on passing down the role of president to a trustworthy student so that the club is able to continue in the years to come.