Written by Johan Satorre
Club day was last Wednesday the 22nd and club meetings are in effect! A new school year means new club leaders. Here’s an insight on the new officers of some popular clubs this year.
Mock Trial
Mock Trial is a student run team that competes against other schools in a simulated court case. They carefully plan and rehearse their roles for months, before competing at the county and, later, state level. Last year, Mock Trial won their section and place 11th in State. According to Co-Presidents Kenya Ochoa ’19 and Noelle Andrew 20′ explain that their goal for this year is to place within the top 8 in the state. Both note however, that their favorite part about the club is the family-like bond that they form between one another. Ochoa says, “I love the family aspect of the club… At first you may not know anyone, but because we spend so much time together, practicing, working out problems, and working with our coach Andre, it becomes a good family environment.” Andrew enjoys all the trips they take going to competitions and the team’s tradition of eat at Denny’s after each match. Even if you aren’t planning on going into a career in law after high-school, Mock Trial is still a good experience for you as Kenya Ochoa notes, “I don’t want to be a lawyer, I want to be a doctor. But I love this club so much because it teaches you oral presentation and it challenges you.”
Red Ink
Red Ink is Redwood’s campus writing club where students can come to express themselves through poetry and writing. Lindsey Mitchell ’19 says, “My favorite part of the club is the people. They all have the same passion for writing that I do. Its really nice to have people who have the same passions as you because it gets you really motivated.” Each year, Red Ink hosts several events like Art after Dark and Poets at the Plaza where students are welcome to show off their work. Mitchell, who is the club’s President, says that their goal for the year is to keep writing and get more people involved. She says, “If you love to write stories, or love writing, or just want to hang out, come on over. You don’t have to be good to enjoy writing.”
Live 2 Free
Live 2 Free is new to Redwood this year. It’s founder and President Mckenna Presley ’19 volunteered in an orphanage in Thailand last year. It made her aware that slavery still exists in the modern world, especially in less developed parts of the world. Live 2 Free’s goal within the community is to raise awareness of human trafficking, and to teach people how to identify and report any abuse they see happening. Their most important goal, according to Presley is, “to make everyone who is part of the club feel loved and accepted. Because one of the main components of slavery or trafficking … is by making them feel special, and manipulating them through that. If we give them that love through something more positive, they be less likely to be exploited that way.” She adds further, “I want to make people on campus feel that they do have the power to change the world, even though we are just in high-school; and from a small town, there is so many little things we can do to make an impact.” The club plans to do fundraising events and donation drives to help local victims.
The presidents work very hard to make sure that each club is fun and give everyone the chance to participate. Without their efforts, Redwood wouldn’t have the great culture that make it so special.