Have you ever wanted to learn about a new culture but didn’t know how? Well, wonder no more because the new Cultural Immersion Club has the answers you have been looking for. Run by juniors, Jayden Radtke and Nooriya Chishti, Cultural Immersion Club is a place to gain awareness of other cultures and much more. 

The leadership in Cultural Immersion Club consists of all juniors. The presidents are Radtke and Chishti with the vice president being Rosy Rojas. Elizabeth Simpson is event planner, and Mia Hackworth and Jenna Prince are the marketing directors. 

Cultural Immersion Club is a club that has many aspects, said Chishti. 

¨It’s a place to gain awareness of other cultures, embrace your own, talk about issues regarding cultures that may have opposing views, and to cover important topics regarding culture today. We want everyone to understand our own as well as different cultures better and fell included regardless of race, gender, or any other factors,¨ said Chishti. 

The club meets the second Monday of every month in French teacher Martine Ovlia’s room, 2201. Updates and information on the club can be found on the club’s Instagram @pshcultureclub. The club wants to give different ideas to each student. 

¨We wanted to give students a place to represent and be proud of their culture while learning about new ones,¨ said Radtke.

Chishti said everyone is welcome.

¨We created it to become aware of other cultures while teaching others about our own cultures. We want it to be a place where people feel welcomed and come with an open mind,¨ said Chishti

The club also wants to bring awareness to different cultures. 

¨We created this club to be more inclusive of the different cultures in our school and to bring awareness to the amount of diversity we have. We wanted a safe environment to share and express our cultural experiences and to learn about others as well. It is also nice to have so many different perspectives in a single room,¨ said Rojas. 

Within each meeting, members of the club can do a presentation of their own cultures and do different things to learn about each culture. This could include bringing food to the meetings, doing crafts, learning cultural dances, and or learning different phrases in different languages. 

¨We try to change it up to each meeting. If there is an upcoming holiday or event, we try to keep up with what is going on. We plan on having days focusing on one culture as we progress,¨ said Rojas. 

With the club, everyone is welcome and encouraged to join. 

¨Everyone is welcome at Cultural Immersion Club and we encourage everything to join! It doesn’t matter what culture they represent but if you want to have a place to be proud of your cultural and learn about others Cultural Immersion is the place for you!¨ said Radtke. 

As the club has had many meetings, everyone has a favorite part. 

¨I’m so glad that I was able to make this club, so my favorite part is just seeing everyone who comes willing to spend some time with is to become more aware. I also love preparing the presentations, and the food is always great! Jayden has not disappointed with her gingerbread cookies at our last meeting or the Panasia snacks before that one!¨ said Chishti. 

Radtke said her favorite part of Cultural Immersion Club is the knowledge she gains. 

¨My favorite part is some of the crafts we do and learning new things about my classmates’ culture that I didn’t know before,¨ said Radtke. 

Club members enjoy sharing their culture and learning about the similarities and differences within different cultures. 

¨Honestly, my favorite part is being able to share my Latinx culture with others and having the opportunity to do so in a safe and fun environment. Also, I’m hosting a foreign exchange student this year, Mabel Marques, and it gives me the opportunity to learn more about her and where she’s from. This allows not only me but others to learn as well and to bring a closer bond within the club,¨ said Rojas

In the end, the club not only gives you a better understanding of different cultures but also hours for NHS. Along with the addition of teachers’ cultures too. 

¨The club also participates with NHS and provides service hours for some of the activities like our last project where we made paper poinsettias and wrote holiday cards for citizens in Delmar Gardens. Also, we plan to get our teachers involved as well like Mr. Zinovchik. He will be doing a presentation soon over his country, Belarus,¨ said Rojas.