There are approximately 94 clubs at ACPHS, and many of them are new clubs students have created this year. Students can participate in a variety of clubs, which allow them to hone their teamwork, individual and group responsibility, competitive spirit, diversity awareness, sense of culture, and community values. Club values are the fundamental beliefs that guide how clubs positively impact its members. Today, we will speak with the leaders of two brand-new clubs that started this year.
Our first leader from one of ACP’s new clubs, which we will introduce, is Olivia Kurniawan. The South/Southeast Asian Student Association, or SEASA, is a club she began this year. Her club is about, “talking about all the cultures of Southeast Asia, India, and Pakistan. We have food, music, and fun activities to familiarize people with our club!” I asked her what inspired her and she says “starting this club was inspired by the fact that southeast Asia didn’t have much recognition at ACP so far, despite being super relevant in our society’s culture. We also have a diverse student body of such cultures, and it’s important for representation to exist!” While Oliva described her leadership style, she replied, “I feel that I am an independent and reliable leader. I also rely a lot on my committee and look to them for all my decisions and future choices, which also makes me a little dependent, too.” As the leader of SEASA, Olivia gains commitment from her team, who leads the club with her, by “already being close friends with them and having good relationships with all of them. This way, we could often communicate about conflict, solutions, and ideas for SEASA.” The values most important to Olivia as a leader are “being reliable, passionate, experienced, and taking initiative.”
Our next and final club leader we will speak with today is Nina Shetty. She is the vice president of one of ACP’s new clubs, PAWS. When I asked about what PAWS is all about, Nina replied, “Our club, PAWS, is about advocating for animals since they don’t have a voice for themselves. We want to do this because lots of animals suffer unnecessarily because of the lack of education about animal well-being in our community. Our club will help shelters and make sure animals have the best lives they can.” The thing that Nina has done in the past that helps her in this role is “a lot of volunteering and having had a lot of leadership roles, which can then help me now with my current role as Vice President of PAWS. In addition to that, I have a huge love for animals, and I hope one day I will be able to save them all!” She motivates her club members by “making sure that club members always feel welcomed. If they have any issues, I hope that they will be comfortable enough to come to one of the board members to talk about them. The first step to motivation is being comfortable in your environment. Having a good environment will allow people to be comfortable enough to work with others around them, show their passions, and share their countless creative ideas.”
In these clubs, you can learn valuable skills that will transcend into college and the work force. The variety of clubs here at ACP offers endless opportunities to take advantage of. There are also many other clubs that other students at ACP have started. Many of the clubs students initiated are surrounded by topics like culture, academics, technology, animals, education, and so much more. New clubs such as these display the way students come together under one thing and create something new. It is a pleasure to have the chance to witness the opportunities and diversity that ACP’s students offer. Go Knights!
