KSEE24 Highlights Redwood High School’s Breakfast Club and Its Positive Impact on Campus

KSEE24, a local news station, visited Redwood High School Thursday morning to cover a meeting of the Breakfast Club. TCOE is highlighting Club President Magnus Burgess, ’24, through the Character Counts program. Steven Amundson, Student Services Coordinator at VUSD, gave members a motivational speech.

By Ayla Ozturk

On Thursday, November 30, 2023, the Redwood High School Breakfast Club held one of their meetings. However, this one had a twist: a local news outlet was there to cover it.

Magnus Burgess, ’24, is the founder and President of the Breakfast Club.

Inspired by the 1985 movie “The Breakfast Club,” Burgess founded the club to bring people together.

“Before COVID, I was really shy. I didn’t talk to people. I didn’t have any friends,” he says. “After COVID, I realized that I had to [overcome] it.”

Burgess wanted to create a space where people could be together, make friends, and eat a good breakfast.

“I wanted there to be a group, a club of people that just got together like [in] the movie,” he says. “I watched it, and I was like, ‘What a great idea! Why don’t I do this? There’s not anything like it.'”

Iliana Covarrubias, ’24, is the club’s Vice President. She says, “When Magnus came to me with the idea, I kind of just laughed. But later, I asked him, ‘What ever happened to Breakfast Club?’. I went from laughing like [it’s a] funny idea to becoming the Vice President.”

Tina Moran teaches American Literature and Advancement Via Individual Determination [AVID]. She advises the Breakfast Club.

“Magnus came to me and wanted to create a club where people from all walks of life can’t be ignored and include people that maybe they see on campus that don’t have friends or alone and just bring these people together,” Moran says. “I thought it was a good idea.”

Now that his hopes have become a reality, the community is noticing Burgess’s efforts to create a positive environment at Redwood.

Kelley Petty, coordinator of the Tulare County Office of Education [TCOE] Character Counts program, first met Burgess when he received a sportsmanship award. His coach told her about the Breakfast Club.

She says, “When I heard Magnus talk about the heart of building relationships on a high school campus, it just completely tied in with the program.”

Character Counts is composed of six pillars: Trustworthiness, Respect, Responsibility, Fairness, Caring and Citizenship.

“I just feel like the Breakfast Club fits well within the caring pillar and including everybody and being respectful,” Petty says. “Magnus is obviously an awesome role model for that.”

Petty says she would have “absolutely” joined the Breakfast Club in high school.

“High school was not easy. I came from a small town, and I had to drive on a bus 20 miles from my high school,” Petty says. “Inclusion wasn’t really a thing to do back then. If we had a club like this, I think a lot of students from out of town would feel much better.”

KSEE24 covers news in Fresno and across the Central Valley. A journalist from the station visited Redwood to highlight Burgess and the club.

Burgess says, “I’m so glad that the news has recognized what’s going on and the positivity happening at Redwood.”

Covarrubias didn’t expect to hear that a local news station wanted to highlight the Breakfast Club.

She says, “At first, it was really surprising that they would want to cover a club like this, but I think it’s really going to put our name out there.”

Amaya Chavez, ’27, is a member of the Breakfast Club. She says, “I think [the coverage is] really cool because I know my grandparents watch [KSEE24], and a lot of other people do too. It’s really cool to see Redwood and other high schools in the news.”

Kevin Mahan is the Chief Photographer at KSEE24 and CBS47. He interviewed club members and shot footage for the station’s story about the club.

He says, “[The station] is shining a spotlight [on the club] because if it’s not for sports, you usually only hear about kids in high school [when] something bad happens. I think [the coverage] is good because it shows that there’s so much positivity that’s going on at schools that you don’t see, but because of this, you will.”

Steven Amundson is the Coordinator of Student Services at Visalia Unified School District [VUSD]. He was invited to give a motivational speech to the club’s members. 

Amundson says that the sense of belonging and community the Breakfast Club has fostered stood out to him.

“It’s just encouraging for me as an adult who works with Visalia Unified to see all these different walks of life coming together to enjoy breakfast together,” he says.

Amundson would have “100 percent” joined Breakfast Club in high school. He says, “I would be the president, so Magnus would have some competition.”

According to Burgess, the Breakfast Club has over 200 members who come together, eat a fresh breakfast, and chat with their peers.

As they ate free pancakes, he told members, “I know so many people now because [of] the Breakfast Club and [have] so many more friends. I’m just blessed to have you guys.”

KSEE24’s coverage will air in mid-December. Those who miss the story live will be able to view it on the KSEE24 CBS47 website.

See more pictures of the event in the photogallery published by Ryan Kaspar.

Tags: ayla ozturk, breakfast club, character counts, ksee24 news, news, rangers, Redwood, redwood gigantea, redwood high school, redwood journalism, redwood news, redwood rangers, rhs, tcoe, tulare county office of education, visalia ca