by Ben Kouchnerkavich
Holland, Mich.--Enjoying the lunch period by partaking in pizza, members of
Holland New Tech High School’s Rotary attended their weekly meeting, and spent time discussing ways to better the community last Tuesday.
“Rotary is about doing stuff for the community,” was the
description sophomore Jacob Matthews gave. “It seems like every week we’re
here, the group of people attending Rotary gets bigger and bigger.”
And the students turned out in full force on Tuesday.
Perhaps they were initially attracted by the promise of pizza, but once they
continued to listen, they became more and more interested in the promise of
helping others.
“The motto of Rotary is to put ‘Service Before Self’,” said
the adult leader of Rotary, Kate Maryon. “One of their biggest projects is
eradicating Polio worldwide.” That’s something they’ve gotten very far along with, and have almost completely accomplished.
President Bryce Crenshaw (10th grade),
vice-president Pamela Figueroa (11th grade), and secretary Maria
Alvarado (11th grade), are the student leaders of rotary.
“Rotary is about trying to help others around you and
attempting to make a difference in the world, one project at a time,” said
Crenshaw.
“We’re a group of people that solve problems around us,”
said Alvarado. She likes the opportunity “to interact with other people.”
If you’re still not all that interested, sophomore Bronsen
Clyne can tell you some effects of rotary that will positively impact your
personal future. “Rotary is a good thing to be a part of because it looks good
on your résumé and you do get to travel,” he said.
Speaking of traveling, they are planning on going on a
mission trip to Honduras in the near future.
Also on the agenda for Rotary is an event on Saturday, March
2, in which students in Rotary can play an instrument for entertainment at a
casual international committee dinner. Vice-President Pamela Figueroa is currently planning on
playing there.
NOTE- A surprising amount of intense enthusiasm for
helping others was shown by students at Rotary. Whenever a new idea was brought up,
it was obvious that the students were very passionate
about the opportunity to genuinely make a difference in someone’s life. This
was even evident by some people who showed up later in the meeting who were
just coming to Rotary for the first time. They seemed interested in being able to serve
others in any way possible.
