The Useless "Thunder Club" and What I Believe it Represents

During the first week of school, I was procrastinating on my homework as usual, scrolling through Instagram (on desktop of course), when the "Thunder Club" Instagram account caught my eye.

Now, I'm no stranger to useless clubs and "non-profits" manufactured mostly to bend the knee to Ivy League University admissions officers. I could name half a dozen off the top of my head that are either 1. defunct, or 2. still going, but 100% useless, solely manufactured for college applications. 

MyArtBeats is the only truly useful/functional "student led non-profit" that I know of, and credit where credits due, the South Florida community is technically a better place with it around. 

But aside from that, if college apps didn't exist, neither would most of our clubs/non-profits at Cypress Bay. 

Thunder Club is a Parody of Useless Clubs

Most clubs or non-profits still have some PURPOSE behind them, something that would make me say, "eh, maybe they actually do give a damn about what they're pushing."

But Thunder Club? Oh boy. I have never seen a singular club so abhorrently useless and meaningless. It is quite literally an SNL parody of what a useless club is. 

Their mission statement on Instagram reads- "Our purpose is to boost school spirit and support our athletic teams! We attend school games to cheer as a group to cheer on our teams, dress up for game days and spirit week, and earn service hours."

So basically, its a glorified way to watch the football game with a group, and get service hours for it. 

When I stumbled across their booth during Club Love Day, I even popped the question I had, as to why this club even existed. Her answer? "Because I need the service hours." Whether that was said sarcastically or not, the statement would still make complete sense.

As a high school junior myself, I can't even blame them for it. If I was lacking in extracurriculars and desperate to add a few merit badges to my sash for college, I would do the same thing (but probably not as blatantly as Thunder Club). 

That doesn't mean I can't find it incredibly silly, and perhaps funny at the same time as well. 

What Thunder Club Represents

I truly believe that in a sense, Thunder Club itself represents a growing trend (or perhaps a toxic trend that has always been there) among high school students. 

The trend being that clubs or non-profits were and are still being made by anxious and competitive high school students just to look nice for colleges. 

Clubs with an eye-watering amount of officer positions, being handed out like candy to students that ask for it.

As a student myself, I do quite like how easy it is to get an officer position. It's certainly quite nice being able to label myself as one. But at the same time, let's not pretend like this is fooling admissions officers in the slightest. 

And most importantly, make sure the extracurricular you're doing is something you 1. actually think matters, and hopefully 2. that you actually like. 

Because if it doesn't meet either of those criteria, then you really are just wasting your time. And I just don't believe for a second that either of the two conditions apply to any member in Thunder Club.

But if its something you ACTUALLY like, or something that ACTUALLY matters, then its certainly well worth it to use your high school years to pursue it. 

That's the best part about high school- being able to explore your passions, especially while risks are low during this time. Just make sure you're enjoying the ride along the way.

To end this off, just a quick thought. In its most recent game, Cypress Bay's football team lost 3-35 against Goleman High (on 09/26/2025). 

Damn. If this is the best Thunder Club can do, then their FIFTEEN club officers really need to step up their game.