Category: Features

By Bernice Ou-Yang

Since Oct. 29, One Way Christian Club has placed many boxes inside classrooms throughout the school for OCC (Operation Christmas Child).  OCC was brought up to the club by their former advisor.  By donating toys, educational utensils and personal hygiene products, the students of PHHS are donating to help needy children around the world.

“We put (the donated items) in shoe boxes, and then we give them to nearby churches that are doing the same to ship the boxes,” says Vice President Jeremiah Porda.  The organization in charge of the OCC has its own shoe boxes.  The club had ordered many of those boxes, hoping to fill each shoe box.  They then drop it off at a church, who ships it to a processing center where volunteers inspect and prepare the boxes for international inspection.  Those boxes are shipped to different countries where they are distributed to the children there.

“This year, we have decided to try to involve the entire school, in hopes that we can collect more donations” states Co-President Gabi Ng.  In the previous years, the club’s OCC didn’t involve the entire school.  The officers and members wanted everyone in the school to be able to participate, hoping that this will also get more donations to pack into boxes for those children.

“I hope to see many children smiling from these gifts and hope that many of PHHS students participated too,” wishes Jeremiah.  The officers and the members of the club all wish and hope that these donations will help make those children happy and show them that there are people in this world that care.

By Andrew Huynh

NHS (National Honor Society) members are giving back to their local community by tutoring young kids three times a week at Ruskin Elementary School.

Members have opportunities to tutor after school every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

“It’s really interesting and it’s fun getting to work with kids from an elementary school that a lot of PHHS students went to,” says Treasurer Elyse Nguyen. “It gives the teachers a helping hand and there’s a bunch of different students there.”

“We wanted to help out those kids in our community,” states President Brandon Dimapasoc.

Since NHS has tutored at Ruskin in the past, setting up a schedule for this year was done by contacting teacher Pamela Colara, who was the same teacher NHS assisted last year.

“The NHS members rotate around the schedule, and each member does at least one session per semester,” informs Secretary Jennifer Lai.

“I’m friends with one kid,” informs Elyse. “We help them in a lot of different subjects which is fun.”

Members of the club are not just limited to the weekly tutoring sessions at Ruskin. Each member is also responsible for finding and committing to their own personal community service projects.

“My personal community project is tutoring kids at Sunshine School,” explains general member Jaria Jaug.

Aside from helping in the local community, NHS also helps internationally. This year, the club is working alongside Save the Children, an international non-governmental organization that promotes children’s rights and provides relief and support to children in developing countries.

“NHS brings so many people from different clubs together to work on different and amazing things,” says Brandon. We hold fundraisers to raise money for Save the Children.”

By Tyler Vu

Over the course of October many seniors have taken ahold of their futures by attending a UC workshop hosted by CSF (California Scholarship Foundation).  The free workshop is meant to help seniors make heads or tails of the confusing task of filling out their applications.  With the deadline for the life-deciding applications cresting the horizon, the help is much needed.

“Yeah, college apps are about to open and I still haven’t started on them,” admits one senior.  “I just don’t know where to start.”

The workshop was led by UC Berkeley senior, Kevin Tran.  This is his second year leading the event, with last year’s workshop being a huge success according to many of last year’s attendees.  Over the course of October, Kevin worked with the students to turn their life stories into unique personal statements that will (hopefully) get them accepted into the college of their choice.

The workshop is held in four parts, each session focusing on one aspect of the applications.  At the first session, held on Oct. 8, the attendees spent two hours going over the UC website and figuring out what aspects of themselves they wish to present to the colleges.  This self reflection is crucial to the process as it allows the student to focus on a specific part of themselves write about.

“The workshop really helped me narrow down on what parts of myself I want to write about,” says senior Tiffany Truong.

The follow up sessions mainly focused on writing the statements themselves and shoring up any weaknesses that might appear.

“Colleges will be most interested in students that have a capacity for improvement and open-mindedness because these two qualities are crucial for any college that seeks exceptional graduates and future applicants,” explains Kevin.

Although many places charge exorbitant fees for such a service, the workshop is free!

“It’s one of my passions to empower the youth and through my workshop, I focus a lot on empowering the individual.  Self-empowerment is very important to me which is why I offer this workshop.  I aspire to be an educator, and I see that there aren’t many resources available to students looking to apply to four year institutions,” says Kevin.

By Erica Xie

PAWS (Pets are Worth Saving) and Crumb by Crumb will host their annual baking activity for pets this Friday from 3pm to 5pm after being postponed due to advisor issues.

“We usually have this collaboration two times per year.  It helps pets because we feed them in shelters, and we provide a good environment to get members involved in our community, while doing their passion,” states Crumb by Crumb President Tiffany Truong.

The clubs baked dog-and-cat-friendly treats, incorporating Crumb by Crumb’s baking and PAWS’ love for pets in B-2.

“Based off (of) past years we’ve done dog food and cat food.  (There’s) bacon inside dog treats and the cat treats have a bit of tuna,” shares PAWS President Veronica Roy.

Even though the event was delayed due to the lack of an advisor, it is expected to be very successful with a massive turnout.

This event has been a tradition for more than four years now at Piedmont Hills.  Each year, PAWS and Crumb by Crumb alternate buying materials, and this year is Crumb by Crumb’s turn.

Having this event is a good way to inspire club friendship and create bonds between clubs.

By Vivian Lin

Members of Interact’s District 5170 gathered at Independence High School to celebrate the club’s annual FLC (Fall Leadership Conference) on Oct. 9.

The event attracts over 4,000 members from across the Bay Area every year to engage in workshops and activities, meet new people and learn about the community and international projects for the year.

“It’s just really cool to see so many passionate people come together,” exclaimed Secretary Edward Chew.

During FLC, students worked together to make packages of crafts projects for kids in need and participated in workshops that encouraged leadership and responsibility.

Last year’s community project was “Under One Roof”, a project that helped alleviate homelessness in the San Jose area by distributing lunches and making care packages.  “Hello My Name Is”, last year’s international project, helped stop human trafficking by hosting a clothes drive for trafficking survivors and raising money through shows and fundraisers.

“FLC really sets the tone for the new year and puts everyone in that service mindset.   It serves as a sort of reminder that high schoolers can make a difference within their community, and even the world,” elaborated Edward.

This year’s community project is “Circle Of Love”, focusing on self love and breaking stigmas against mental illnesses.  Interact’s international project this year is “Me The Human”, a project that helps bring Syrian refugees in the Bay Area to a safe place while providing food and shelter to refugees around the world.

“I think these projects are really awesome and I’m very excited to take on these challenges in order to achieve our goals,” commented Youth Act Coordinator Tommie Huynh.