What Makes a Successful Middlesex Club

Many clubs don’t make it past the club fair. How do the survivors thrive?

Whether because of low attendance or busy student club heads, most Middlesex clubs either fizzle out in the first few months of the year or simply disappear after the club fair. However, a select few clubs manage to stand out from the pack and become legitimate Middlesex clubs. While the interests and activities of top clubs on campus vary, the features that allow them to grow and ensure success on campus are the same: enthusiastic leaders, genuine effort, and unconventional recruitment tactics.

Some students interested in serious intellectual topics lead clubs, and their passion and effort greatly benefit the community. The Anvil, more of an institution than a club, draws on student writers who are deeply interested in a variety of topics. It benefits from the hard work of student editors who spend endless hours editing, formatting, and producing the Anvil. Consistent faculty involvement also helps many clubs flourish: the Anvil, in particular, not only benefits from its faculty advisor’s guidance, but the input of passionate faculty members who are invested in the various intellectual and entertaining opportunities the Anvil provides to students. Middlesex’s science magazine, DNA-MX, and the literary magazine, the IRIS, also heavily depend on the collaborative effort from students and faculty alike. 

Another Middlesex organization is Finance Club, passionately guided by Luke Power ‘24 who spends countless hours preparing presentations, courting speakers, and creating activities all for the benefit of interested students. Finance Club flourishes because of Luke and other club leaders’ dedication to creating a serious yet fun environment to attract interested students through diverting activities like a stock market simulation game.

Many clubs combine those three traits to create fun opportunities for niche and often random interests. Fishing Club and its line of passionate heads have maintained an inclusive space for everyone to fish and enjoy the pond in fall and spring. Similarly, Middlesex Sunday Sailing, headed by Ben Visco ‘24, highlighted the passion of its head through its success. Ben made great efforts to bring boats for students to sail on and offered his experience in sailing, with the help of similarly experienced Andrew Visco ‘26, so that total novices could enjoy the pond. Both clubs use Instagram to share the highlights of their club meetings, communicate about future dates, and encourage general participation. More recently, Rubik's Cube Club, headed by Thatcher Foregger ‘24 and Felix Juves ‘24, highlighted the importance of passionate club leaders: the duo loves ‘cubing’ and teaching new methods to attendees every week. They have also taken advantage of the new announcements block to energetically broadcast their next meeting, ensuring that no student can miss a meeting because they didn’t know about it. 

Students often make fun of the fact that so many clubs seem to disappear in the first few weeks of the year after an initial burst of enthusiasm; however, they often overlook many of Middlesex’s finest and most consistent student-run organizations. While it would be nice if more clubs continued on throughout the year, the presence of active student groups shouldn’t be taken for granted. And if you want to start a club of any kind, don’t worry about the seemingly daunting requirements like a faculty advisor, the club forms, or all-school announcements: the school is highly supportive and there is surely a faculty member who would support it. 

Jack Elworth