extracurricular activites require dedicated hours outside of school

Malorie Wiederkehr, Section editor

After finally getting home from an exhausting yet productive debate session at ten o’clock, junior Andrew Wiederkehr throws his backpack on the ground and passes out on the couch without even making it to his bed.

Activities, clubs, associations and other academic opportunities fill the building at all times during the day. However, many of these commitments require time spent outside of school. Debate, band, and yearbook are a few of these activities that require participation after school hours.

How much time I spend after school on my own can vary, but honestly I prefer to try and get what I can done in class. Maybe like an hour every week, because you have to finish a story or you have to type up an interview so you can write the story the next day. We also have late night around once a month where we stay as late as possible to get some extra work done before a deadline, “ senior Andrew Gillihan said.

Gillihan joined the yearbook staff this year, and has so far enjoyed it. Though it takes up some of his free time outside of school, Gillihan expresses that it is a fun class, and you get out what you put into it. Overall, it does not have much of an effect on his other academics, specifically his core classes.

Band spends a generous amount of time before and after school dedicated to practicing. While band is something Abshier loves and is noticeably getting better at since playing at the high school level, it still interferes with school occasionally for all-region or state competitions.

“The result of spending so much time outside of school practicing does pay off. I have improved tremendously since I joined Har-Ber, and I still have room for improvement. That is why I really enjoy it, because there is always something new to learn in band,” sophomore Joseph Abshier said.

“One hundred percent of the time the results of being a part of debate pay off. We work hard during mock trial and student congress practice to prepare for tournaments and improve skills. It is one of my favorite things in the world, because it teaches me about what is really going on in the world. The people in it are some of the strongest and funniest I know. I always leave class feeling like I got better,” Wiederkehr said.

Wiederkehr spends two to four hours after school on Tuesdays and Thursdays for debate. Although he must sometimes miss classes for tournaments, Wiederkehr does not regret being part of the program.

Despite the extra hours that school activities and clubs call for, many students enjoy the work they are apart of.