Holding office in student council or a student club is a relatively easy job in comparison to creating from scratch the club or organization itself. Not only is it a challenge to get a moderator and all the necessary student signatures for the club to be approved, but retaining members and garnering new interest always remains difficult for a club in its infancy.
But these new student-created organizations have survived this year and look to go into next even stronger.
Not For Sale
Although the Jesuit “Not for Sale” group (NFS) existed beforehand, it was never really that active, so at the end of the 2010-2011 school year, Will Wood ‘13 approached history teacher Ms. Kathleen Guinn about rekindling it, and they did just that.
The club’s main objective is to increase the awareness of the horrors and injustices of human trafficking. Under its new leadership, the NFS club at Jesuit has found many ways to be active in the community, raise awareness, and help abet the fight against the nation-wide crisis of human trafficking. The group has also raised money to help the victims of human trafficking and has supported some victims by taking regular trips to the Mosaic House- a shelter where trafficked people can stay and be cared for.
Will Wood, president of the club, has been very pleased with the past trips to the Mosaic House: “The past few times we have been there we have played with the kids, donated toiletries, had a BBQ, and held an Easter egg hunt.” Each time Jesuit visits the Mosaic House, they try to ease the victims back into the bustling society that they used to call home and hope to get them back on their feet again.
Already getting ahead of the game, Will Wood and moderator Ms. Guinn will be having 9 members go to a Human Trafficking forum in California to gain insight on how to raise awareness more effectively.
http://www.notforsalecampaign.org/
Brothers for Others
Inspired by the Jesuit motto, “Men for Others,” Dennis Kamara ‘13 formed the club Brothers for Others (BFO) whose goal is to help those with autism and other learning difficulties. In a telephone interview, Dennis said that his autistic brother was the main impetus for him to create BFO: “Every Thursday, I have done volunteer work for all the players on my brother’s basketball team, who all have a range of disabilities. I was really happy with the work I was doing, and I wanted to give other people the same experience that I was having.”
The club often coordinates with the Notre Dame School, helps kids with a range of disabilities, like autism or Down-Syndrome, and raises money for medical research of such diseases.
Just recently, BFO held an event in which Jesuit students made arts and crafts and played other fun games with Notre Dame School students. Dennis seemed pleased with the outcome of the day: “There were about five people with disabilities at the event. Through the games, they were not only able to learn from us, but vice versa.”
In the future, Dennis hopes to expand the reach of Brothers for Others and raise money, through walks and basketball tournaments, to donate to research organizations such as the Down-Syndrome Guild of Dallas and Autism Speaks. Mrs. Anne Blackford is the faculty moderator.
Jesuit Political Awareness
Politics, a very hot topic in everyone’s mind, has just recently been incorporated into a new Jesuit club, the Jesuit Political Awareness Club (JPAC). President Jacob Przada ‘14 thinks that his “dedication to politics and the enjoyment of what it can offer towards society” has influenced him to start JPAC. He wants his peers to “experience politics through all perspectives.”
Although there have been only three meetings in the past two months, Jacob is already making plans for next year’s community service trips and field trips to the state capital, or maybe even Washington, D.C. As for the local community, “JPAC empowers the club members to go out into society and educate others about the wonderful opportunities politics has to offer.” Jacob hopes that while the members of JPAC are on their monthly trips, the members will “want to experience politics on an interactive basis” and “meet with politicians.”
Investment Club
Hoping to get involved in today’s economy? If so, you might want to join the new Investment Club, started by Patrick McNearney ’13 and moderated by Mr. Mark Wester. As president, Patrick wants “to show students that the market is not as impenetrable and complicated as it seems.”
The goal of the club is to provide Jesuit students with the opportunity to develop a fundamental understanding of the economy, the stock market, and basic investment skills. Patrick is a strong believer in the idea of earning money and watching it grow daily: “I am so dedicated to the Investment Club because I have personally invested in the stock market, and I love the idea of having my money make more money. I want others to love it too.”
One of the biggest events this year was the simulated brokerage account. Every semester each student put $5 in a pot and then was given $100,000 dollars in an online, simulated brokerage account. The balances of the accounts were ranked on a website and the top two students with the highest account balances at the end of the semester split the money.
During these competitions, the Investment Club has meetings to introduce new members to the basic aspects of the stock market. Junior Andrew Frank won the competition this year and the largest cut of the pot. Currently, Patrick is “working very hard to start Jesuit’s first student-run brokerage account,” which he hopes will last after he leaves Jesuit.
History Club
Club president Chet Heldman ’13 and AP World History teacher Mr. Casey Profitt have teamed up to form the History Club to share their love of the past with Jesuit students. According to Mr. Profitt, “The original inspiration for starting the club came from Heldman, who wanted to create an organization where students could investigate history in a more amusing and relaxed way than in the classroom.”
While some Jesuit students might not have a natural predilection toward history, the History Club hopes to change that by providing students with “a venue in which students explore historically-related issues, events or themes across a broad range of activities, including, but not limited to, listening to guest speakers, taking field trips, playing historically related games, and sponsoring presentations at issues days.”
The History Club is not only a club where students can learn about history in a relaxing environment, but also one where students can receive tutoring if they are struggling in their history courses. As of right now, during the final days of the 2011-12 school year, Mr. Profitt and Mr. Heldman are planning a possible trip to the southern region of Europe that will tentatively occur next summer.
For the Love of the Lake
Editor-in-Chief of The Roundup, Andrew Frank ‘13, and Cole Fincher ’13 have formed yet another student club- For the Love of the Lake (FTLOTL). Cole, Andrew, and Mr. Rich Perry, Director of Community Service, decided to start a Jesuit chapter of the actual “For the Love of the Lake” organization in Lakewood, which hopes to clean the area in and around White Rock Lake. Andrew explained his motive for creating the club: “I had already been doing work at the lake since 8th grade, and Cole and I just realized that we could really make a difference if we formed a club where Jesuit students could more easily clean the environment.”
After regular cleanups and months of hard work, FTLOTL had a concluding event at White Rock Lake to have a miniature party. There, they went kayaking, ate lunch under the trees, and admired all the work they had done that year. Thanks to their efforts, White Rock Lake has become a more fun and clean place to be.
