Why students are running their own clubs at CATS
By Hugo M.
Diego Rivera offers a variety of extracurriculars for students to join, from lifting weights in the weight room to painting in the Arts and Crafts Room.
However, more students are choosing to create and run their own clubs, inspiring creativity and leadership to other students.
For instance, one of the newer clubs this school semester has been that of Crochet Club run by senior Itzmin C. In the club, students can learn how to crochet and knit a variety of clothing, from cozy scarfs to fashionable beanies. Students can then turn in their finished clothes to Itzmin, which are donated to non-profit charities.
“Our mission is to keep the community in skid row [safe], especially the Latino community and the Black community there through teaching the youth of South Central how to crochet and knit,” he said.
He explained that by teaching students these skills and submitting their projects, they can gain community service hours, which all CATS students need to graduate.
In addition, Itzmin said that although this club does get funding from after-school program Educare, it is unique in the way that the club is mostly funded by students, and they have to reach out to companies as well to get materials for their club.
Similarly, Latin American Student Union, or LASU, is a recent club that is student-run.
One of its leaders, senior Naftali S., said the club’s focus is “talking more about the Latin-American students here at CATS and making them feel more comfortable, in expressing themselves in the way of who they are.”
Whenever the club meets, students share inspiring quotes from indigenous authors and discuss media made by Latin and indigenous creators.
Furthermore, when asked what is one of the prominent skills that students learn in the club, Naftali shared, “I would say communication. Communication is important because they feel comfortable not just speaking with new people who they don’t know, but also like people who they do know.”
This is important as many students are from Latinx backgrounds and are adjusting to learning English and may feel uncomfortable speaking Spanish.
However, Naftali shares how having the club be run by students can help students feel more confident in sharing how they feel compared to it being run by a teacher.
Although CATS may only have a few student-run clubs, the impact they hold for both new and returning students is significant.
After-School Site Coordinator of Educare at CATS Tanya Mendoza said these clubs can be beneficial to student’s futures after high school.
“It looks good on your resume to be involved,” she said. “There’s a lot of opportunities for leadership roles after school, so once you look at career and college as well, you can talk about the different opportunities you have had in being a leader and being part of a community.”
The crochet club meets Wednesdays after school in Ms. Castañeda’s room (Room 206). The LASU club meets Mondays during lunch in Ms. Salcido’s class (Room 205).
