VNHS Students | Lizeth Aguirre Rodriguez
Cultural Crafts Senior Samantha Silva takes a look at a map made by the club
At our school, learning doesn’t stop when the lunch bell rings. A variety of lunchtime clubs are giving students the opportunity to explore their interests, build leadership skills and connect with peers.
The UNIDOS Scholarship Club at our school is one such example. The UNIDOS Scholarship Club’s main goal is to provide a safe space for the Hispanic and Latino students on campus.
Senior Samantha Silva, president of the UNIDOS Scholarship Club, explains what members are in for when they attend the club meetings.
“The purpose of UNIDOS is to strengthen the community of Hispanics and Latinos in our school,” she said.
UNIDOS itself means ‘’united” in Spanish and Silva explains that the name of her club alludes significantly to the reason for its founding.
“We wanted to make a space where we can share our unique experiences, have discussions about our cultural similarities and have an outlet for spreading awareness on the issues that plague our community,” Silva said.
The UNIDOS Scholarship Club has been around for four years, beginning when Silva was a freshman.
Silva shared her inspiration for starting this club stemmed from the amount of clubs she noticed that were dedicated to specific cultures.
“What inspired me to continue with this club is that during my freshman year, I found out there were multiple clubs catered to various cultures and communities, but not many that catered specifically to the Latinx community,” Silva said.
Silva took initiative in order to create a safe space and a positive impact for her community.
“I know that there are many first generation Latinx students applying to college but don’t have the adequate support or knowledge about the process,” she said. “So I thought this club would be an excellent opportunity to lead my community at VNHS.”
Silva was lucky enough to have a senior friend to guide her through the club application process as she was a freshman. In order to start planning for her club, Silva needed to gather and form her board members.
“I initially wanted to ask classmates and friends that were responsible and passionate about helping the Latinx community with better opportunities and to achieve a higher education,” Silva said.
After formulating the club’s board members, Silva found a sponsor that supported her club’s mission.
“I figured that Ms. Garcia, one of the Spanish teachers at our school, would be the most ideal for this position, but she recommended me to ask Ms. Barcena instead,” Silva said. “From that day, Ms. Barcena has been faithful to my club as our official club sponsor.”
Silva was passionate about her club and wanted to make it as welcoming as possible to encourage students to join.
“We wanted to provide comfort to new club members by educating briefly about the purpose of the club, as well as highlighting the fun activities we do such as potlucks and games for special holidays,” she said.
The UNIDOS Scholarship Club has meetings bi-weekly on Fridays in Room 505, with each meeting being unique.
“We have various activities planned for each meeting depending on the time of year. Most meetings, we discuss scholarships that are catered to Latinx students,” Silva said. “We also write letters for the children in detention centers, especially in the current political climate, and during holidays we play games such as Lotería and share Hispanic foods.”
Silva highly encourages students, especially those in the Latinx community, to join the UNIDOS Scholarship Club.
“This club would be a great opportunity to acknowledge the many scholarships created for the Latinx students, as well as take advantage of the many activities to help the Latinx community and make an impact among the students at our school,” she said.
Silva encourages students who have ideas for a club but are too nervous about starting one to go for it, explaining that as long as they believe in their purpose, their club will flourish.
“I would suggest to start small and aim to start a club with your close friends and eventually advertise more people to join,” she said. “In order to have a strong club, you have to have a strong mission.”
She shared the impact starting a club has had on her and how it could help other students trying to do the same.
“I personally wouldn’t change anything from the beginning. I have always followed my intuition and asked for guidance either from teachers or from other students and I would say for anyone starting a club, feeling nervous and anxious is worth it,” she said. “Part of being a leader is putting yourself out there and trying to find a group of people who want to make an impact as well.”
The UNIDOS Scholarship club meets next on Friday, Oct. 17.