Lick-Wilmerding High School students find community in a multitude of places such as sports, performing arts and shop classes. As a result, some may ask, “Why have clubs if students can find community elsewhere?” Clubs provide an environment for students with common interests or shared identities to connect, form friendships and find a sense of belonging around their shared interests and experiences.
Manu Rapaport ’25 shared his experience transitioning to LWHS from the Brandeis School of San Francisco. He described how coming from a previously sheltered environment made the transition to a more diverse community challenging, but how joining the Jewish Student Union (JSU) made for a smoother transition.
“While I really appreciate seeing new perspectives and meeting different kinds of people at Lick, it is also still important for me to be back with the Jewish community. For me, when I’m at the Jewish Student Union, that’s where I feel at home,” Rapaport said.
Rapaport runs cross country and track, and while he has formed friendships through these activities, they are not comparable to the strong community he finds through JSU. Last year as a frosh, Rapaport chose to join clubs to find community and familiarize himself with the school. “Joining clubs is one of the best ways to meet a wide variety of people who share similar interests and backgrounds as you,” he said.
Similarly, LWHS senior Elsa Bosemark ’23 discussed her leadership role in the Girls In Tech club. She has always been interested in the field of technology, and as a frosh, her goal was to meet new students with similar passions.
The club centers around female-identifying and non-binary students who have ranging interest levels in technology, coding and programming. Through this club, Bosemark found an uplifting and encouraging workspace.
“I was able to practice new skills with others, and create a support network that really benefited me in 9th grade,” said Bosemark.
Director of The Center for Civic Engagement Christine Godinez-Jackson said, “Most people yearn to feel a sense of belonging in the communities that they are a part of. We want to feel seen, heard and loved.”
She continued to share how she has seen students’ sense of community have an impact on them academically. “I have heard students share firsthand how important they feel when a teacher is intentional about building community in the class. Their sense of belonging is strongly connected to their motivation to learn and do well in class,” Jackson said.
This school year, about 20% of the 94 clubs at LWHS are new to the roster. The new clubs span a multitude of different genres, from socially oriented groups to social justice related clubs to mental health awareness groups.
One new club joining LWHS is the Teen Perspectives Hub (TPH), a passive membership club with the intention of bringing together students from across the country to engage in meaningful discussions surrounding politics and social justice. Co-leader Lori Agbabian ’24 expresses that the club’s goal is to provide civil conversation, versus persuasion for an ideal. Partnering with a school in a different state, the club plans to meet regularly once a rotation over Zoom. Their intention is for LWHS students to have the opportunity to get to know teenagers from across the country who hold different perspectives.
“I hope students get another perspective on the lives of teenagers in the United States, and realize that we as youth of America are stronger together,” Agbabian said.
Agbabian first thought of this club in 2020 during online schooling. She shared how difficult it was at times to stay home with her family, especially during political or social debates. Nevertheless, coming out of Zoom school, Abgababian saw the immense value of that time, and realized she wished to create a space for all LWHS students to have an opportunity to engage in civil debate and learn from differing perspectives.
After beginning to formulate her ideas last year, a perfect opportunity arose to participate in the Action Leadership Program for Students (ALPS), through the Rotary Club of San Francisco. Within this program, Agbabian was partnered with an outside mentor who helped her fully flesh out the idea, and helped her envision and later create a tangible product: the TPH.
This year, Agbabian’s goal with the TPH is to draw LWHS students in, and give them a space to discuss their opinions freely and without judgment. She said, “A goal I have is to establish regular meetings and even get a curriculum started so members who are also passionate and interested in this idea — from both schools — can feel proud of the work they’re doing with each other.”
Bring Change to Mind (BC2M) is another newly-founded club this semester, led by Gia Mercer ’25 and Naomi Taxay ’23. BC2M is an active membership club with a national initiative to reduce stigma around mental health through providing constant resources, discussions, activities and daily apps for students to use in times of need. Mercer, co-leader, said, “This year the club’s goal is pretty simple: get students to show up to meetings.”
She explained how last year, there was a similar mental health club being run where students had an outlet to discuss their daily issues. However, there was a lack of interest in the club, and it therefore didn’t work very well. This year with BC2M, Mercer shared how excited she and Taxay are to have a larger pool of resources from the Counseling Department to hopefully create a bigger impact with greater success.
Through this club, Mercer’s goal is to educate students on the resources available. She said, “My hope is to continue to help other students know that people are out there who want to help you. A lot of time mental health is an internal struggle, but it doesn’t have to be, so just know that there are resources and this is an important topic of conversation that’s going to continue on.”
A comprehensive list of the 94 clubs is available on the student club website, accessible through the Blackbaud resource page.
Community is a core value at LWHS, and is beneficial in supporting students’ mental health, academic achievement and overall joy at school. Through clubs specifically, students find community and belonging with others who share common interests, and therefore find further joy in their daily school experiences.
