Movies often depict high school to be full of cliques. There are the jocks, the goths, the geeks, the preppy kids, and countless others. As ridiculous as they seem on screen, a less extreme version does tend to exist in real life, and this division can leave some kids feeling excluded. Everyone wants a place where they feel like they belong, and that is exactly what Nerd Club is offering to Rider students. This new club focuses on games and pastimes that would typically be considered nerdy, like Dungeons and Dragons and Magic the Gathering. According to freshman Spencer Simons, a member of the club, it gives people a place to “nerd out.” Simons grew up in Haskell, Texas, a small town where he didn’t feel he fit in with others.

“Most of the people in that town were really closed-minded, and they weren’t really into the same stuff I was,” he said. “They all wanted me to get in sports and I didn’t want to do that.”

After moving to Wichita Falls, Simons met people who shared his interests and found it to be a very eye-opening experience after feeling so brushed aside by people in his hometown. Students like Simons helped teacher Bryce Henderson realize why this club is so important.

“We felt like there was a large group of people that didn’t have a place to be or a club for them,” Henderson said. “They didn’t fit into a sport or the other clubs we have, which are lacking, so we wanted to make something where there would be a place for everyone.”

The inclusivity of Nerd Club could be beneficial to some students’ self-esteem. It presents like-minded people to others in a judgment-free zone.

“A lot of them think they’re kind of alone and that they’re weird,” Henderson said, “but then they come and it’s a room full of weird and nerdy kids and they’re like, ‘ There are other people that like the stuff I like,’ so I think that’s good.”

Henderson enjoys leading the club largely because he wants to show others that it’s ok to be interested in things that others may not be interested in and that it’s ok to have friends in multiple social circles. Most of all, he wants it to be known that everyone is welcome at Nerd Club.

“If there’s something you’re interested in,” he said, “there’s probably a place here for you.”