MHSHS Hottest Club on the Rise: Origami Club

By: Karen Perez

In MHSHS, the thing that defines what the school is like and gives it its school spirit is the clubs. Each year at MHSHS, these clubs hold a club fair, allowing students to view the clubs that are available, and then around October, these clubs begin to meet and continue to meet until the end of the school year. With an overwhelming number of over 30 clubs, it’s challenging for a student to decide which clubs to attend. Will it be an artistic club or a cultural club? Not only that, but it has to align with the student's schedule since some clubs take place during lunch or after school, and their frequency varies from once a week to a full school year commitment. One club that was just established this school year seems to be the interest of students from all grades, gaining lots of attention and people constantly talking about it: the Origami Club. Founded by Sakura Jung (current junior), I decided to interview her and ask her, “Why did you make this club? What were your hopes for it? Do you feel like those hopes have been met or surpassed?” As for the members of this club, I wanted to ask them, “Why did you decide to join this club? Why should others join this club?” In asking these questions, I wanted to see if there was a clear answer as to why people were interested in this club and how it gathered popularity fast.

Since the Origami Club meets every other week during lunch, it's appealing to students who may not have time to go to a club after school and allows them to be with their friends in a fun space. Members of the club seem to share the same mindset since Maddisyn DaSilva (11th grader) said, “I joined origami because I thought doing origami would be fun, and it fit into my schedule as it’s during lunch instead of after school. Others should join the club as it’s an easy and enjoyable way to earn community service hours and has a very welcoming atmosphere!!” Did I forget that the Origami Club gives its members volunteer hours? That’s right, and it’s also what appeals to so many students to come and fill up the classroom every meeting; the tutorials as to how to make the hearts and cranes are always up on the board, and if you need further assistance, you can always ask Sakura or her club vice-presidents, Rihanna Morris and Karen Perez.

Destiny Ugochukwu’s response was, “I decided to join the origami club because of the chance of bonding with friends and finding relief from the stress of school. If you want to relax, talk to friends, and create some cool origami pieces, then I think the origami club is the best for you.” In creating pieces of origami, it creates a sense of relaxation, and after a stressful first half of the day, most students would need that time to be at peace. Lastly, Ana Cruz (11th grader) shares a similar response to both DaSilva and Ugochukwu but was more honest as to her reasons for joining. “Honestly, at first I only joined because my friends were going to it during lunch, and I didn’t necessarily want to be alone, but after a while I started to enjoy it. It’s a nice place to chill when you want to, and we get to do mini competitions, along with learning how to make different things with the paper. There’s also the fact that it’s all going to a children’s hospital, so you’re helping spread some positivity into the lives of people that need it. Overall, it’s pretty fun learning how to make hearts and birds and other things, even when you mess up a few times.” Though her intention wasn’t to join the club for making hearts, she quickly realized how fun it was, and despite the challenges along the way, she's gotten better at them, and it makes her feel rewarded as these are being donated to children’s hospitals. What all of these students have in common is that they joined this club to have fun, and so far, these expectations have been exceeded. If you feel like this club is something you would like to join, then you can come and hang out in Mr. Shucks' room (500) every other Thursday during lunch, and in Sakura’s words, “Earn community hours while having fun! It’s never too late to join.”