One of Annandale High School’s most well-known and respected traits is its diversity, as it is home to students from countless different countries and backgrounds. As a result, the school has developed a welcoming, inclusive community, though it would not have been possible without its clubs—and their leaders.
A main club of the school known for promoting inclusivity is the Just World Interact Club, run by Giancarlos Parada Rivas, the club’s president.
“Our mission is to encourage students to understand that they are not only part of an individual local community but a global one as well,” Parada Rivas said. “This helps achieve our goal of raising awareness of global issues and diverse cultures so that, together, we can create a more just and peaceful world.”
Throughout the year, Just World provides many service opportunities to students to help both our local community and global communities, also hosting several events including the Just World Festival, Chalk for Peace, Crop Walk, and Write for Rights. Parada Rivas works year-round to make these events possible, simultaneously recruiting members and promoting the club.
“Our club is an opportunity for student involvement and participation beyond the typical academic environment, invoking the values of inquiry and thinking of topics such as culture and diversity,” Parada Rivas said. “It pushes each student to learn about the different aspects of the world around themselves.”
Key Club is another club at the school that holds a similar mission: to bring awareness to the needs of the community and give action to support it. As the president, Kanica Sum has strived to create a comfortable environment in which students can have fun while serving the community.
Their biggest projects include Musical Cakes and Pancake Project, two major events in which the club raised money to help fund senior scholarships, environmental needs, hunger prevention, the Key Club headquarters, and the club itself. These projects allow the members of the club to work together and have fun with each other, all while making a huge difference.
“Key Club has encouraged the school and its students to keep supporting our local hunger pantry and show appreciation to our hard working INOVA hospital workers,” Sum said.
Though the club’s main focus is not to promote inclusivity, its goals as well as the environment it provides to its members has done just that.
“At the end of the day, it’s one whole community full of diverse and unique members that leads to a successful service,” Sum said.
Both Key Club and Just World give students the opportunity to make a difference not just within the school walls but also in their communities—out in the real world.
The Vietnamese Student Association, known as VSA, often connects with the community outside of school in a similar fashion, though it is generally more focused on the community within the school.
According to Margo Tran, the president of VSA, the club’s overall mission is to foster a community within the school that promotes Vietnamese culture and encourages Vietnamese students to be more connected with their heritage. It also serves as an opportunity for non-Vietnamese students to learn more about Vietnamese culture.
“I personally think VSA is a place of belonging,” Tran said. “When I look at our members during club meetings, I am really proud of the community that we’ve created within the school.”
Some of VSA’s big projects include different collaborative events with other clubs as well as the other VSAs across the country, often hosting fundraisers and workshops centered around food.
“Because VSA is nonexclusive, we have many other members from other cultures that are present as well,” Tran said. “I think this not only represents the diversity and acceptance present in Annandale but also represents the bond that the student body has, especially as students are making a genuine effort to understand their friends and their culture.”
While VSA promotes diversity by highlighting a specific culture, Tri-M creates an inclusive environment by bringing students together based on a shared interest: music. The honor group’s mission is to foster both leadership and a deeper appreciation for music education within the students of the music disciplines, according to President Leyla Yilma.
“We achieve this goal by providing opportunities for members to give back to their community and encouraging them to think more deeply about their roles as musicians within their ensembles,” Yilma said.
These opportunities include everything from ushering at the performing arts events to hosting Try an Instrument Day, a special event in which students are encouraged to sign up for performing arts classes.
“Tri-M works to strengthen the performing arts department by creating opportunities for collaboration across various disciplines,” Yilma said. “We provide support for other music groups during concerts, events, and performances, helping to build a more unified and engaged arts community within the school.”
The group supports not only the performing arts department of Annandale but also the music groups of other schools, helping to make a difference that exceeds the boundaries of the school. Yilma has shaped the environment to be both collaborative and engaging so that serving the community may be as fun as it is helpful.
The clubs of AHS all contribute to our peaceful and inclusive environment throughout the school, working together as a whole to make sure that there is a place for everyone in the school community. Whether centered around a culture, a common interest, or even community service, each club serves as a place where students can belong, together.