Getting involved in activities at Blue Valley Southwest is much easier than some students may think.

Those who are interested in getting involved have plenty of activities to choose from.

One fantastic opportunity for students to get involved is to join cross country. It is a great sport that welcomes everyone and anyone.

“Being on the team has given me the opportunity to make all sorts of new friends,” sophomore Piper Misse said.

Cross country is a large commitment, with practices every day after school and meets sometimes on Saturday mornings, but it is worth it. If a BVSW student is looking for an activity that combines exercise and lots of social time, then cross country should definitely be considered.

Now, for those who don’t exactly love to run, there are plenty of other options available. One of those options is National Art Honor Society.

Joining National Art Honor Society, or NAHS for short, involves three key things.

“One must have a half credit of art in their high school career, pay the $15 induction fee, and have 15 hours of community service,” NAHS leader and art teacher Robert Putnam said.

NAHS members get to participate in many fun things throughout the year. “Right now they are working on homecoming decorations,” Putnam said. Along with decorating the dance, the club is involved with many art-related community service organizations.NAHS if for art lovers and it is an extracurricular that isn’t too demanding (NAHS just meets every thursday after school.)

 Students who aren’t into hobby-focused clubs should rejoice, there is a club that does a wide range of things that any student can choose from and sift through. That is KAY club.

“KAY club is a leadership and character building service organization,” sophomore and KAY club leader Taylor Massey said.

KAY club does a lot of things that most students don’t even know they can be involved with.

KAY is involved with weekly recycling, helping with Relay for Life, and any service projects done at Southwest. The club raises money for different causes, collects food for Harvesters, and helps with events at BVSW.

KAY is a club for everyone, no matter what class you are in and no matter how much time you have to give.

Some students at Southwest are very involved, while others aren’t involved at all. For some, it is hard to know what is really being offered when some teachers and coaches don’t take the time to get the information out there to interested, but new, students.

Sophomore Jessica Art, a tennis player, said that she wasn’t involved at all as a freshman because she didn’t really know what was out there, and had she had more information, she probably would have done more clubs or activities.

One final tip for students looking to get involved: take advantage of Southwest’s Activity Fair, which is in place for the sole purpose of getting information about school activities to freshman and new students.

Overall, Southwest is a great place to be involved for many reasons, the most important being the acceptance of everyone, no matter what.

“My favorite thing about being a part of a team at SW is the sense of family,” Misse said, “It makes me proud to be involved at Southwest.”

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