Led by Juniors Hannah Kerman, Shanice Stauch, and Ayushi Patel, the newly formed Asian Heritage Club welcomes everyone, regardless of their heritage.
In fact, Kerman has Thai heritage, Stauch, Singaporean, and Patel, Indian.
Each of the leaders works to share elements of their personal culture but also share information about the continent as a whole.
Social studies teacher Dr. John Bierbaum, sponsors the club, and the three juniors resurrected the club after a couple of years of inactivity.
Recently on March 11, the three visited the Illinois State Capitol Building in Springfield and shadowed representative Sharon Chung to experience a day in Congress.
“I learned what a day in the life of a state rep is like and I learned a lot about the legislative process and what it looks like in action,” Kerman shared.
Patel was also curious to learn how “the House of Representatives really ran.”
“We were able to sit in and listen to their meetings,” Patel added.
They find value in their connection to Sharon Chung and hope to spread more opportunities, such as visiting the capitol, to more students.
Meetings this year have been held Tuesday mornings in Dr. Bierbaum’s room, (110).
A typical AHC meeting consists of a presentation or craft related to a specific Asian country.
“This club is a way for us to show the school that we do have diversity, and that [Asian people] do exist at the school,” Kerman added.
The club intends to educate students about the importance of keeping an open-mind and encourages curiosity.
Kerman believes that “it’s not always a bad thing to learn something new.”
The club looks forward to their upcoming field trip to Chicago this semester.
“I hope AHC will grow beyond what it is now and into a bigger club with a more diverse membership,” Kerman said.
Anyone is welcome to join anytime in the year, and joining is as simple as showing up to any Tuesday meeting.
Meetings are posted on the @ncwhsasianheritage Instagram and on the AHC google classroom with code: buoeclx.
