“By the end of high school I was of course not of course an educated man, but I knew how to try to become one.” – Clifton Fadiman
Fadiman is right. As we progress through our high school years, and undoubtedly graduate, we carry the valuable skills and knowledge that we have learned with us. Researching, studying, and managing our time, have all been some of the skills we’ve learned while we continue our journey on Flint Hill. Our teachers deserve an undeniable amount of credit, for the effort they put into keeping and allowing us to be further educated, and learn the skills necessary to grow.
But more importantly, it is not only the staff and curriculum that helps students grow, but the clubs which help us explore our interests and indulge us in the things we find exhilarating. Until very recently, clubs had to struggle to continue their meetings and efforts, while the challenges of COVID did its best to stop them.
This year, as we look forward to a new and brighter school year, we can thank our clubs for being so resilient in helping us learn, and engaging us in the things we find interesting.
I asked some of the club leaders about their hopes and what their club will be doing this year. Here is some of what we can expect from clubs, this year:
Cybersecurity Club (Rachel Pao, Jad Daoud, Zach Burgoon):
About:
Cybersecurity Club is a club for people of all skill levels where we learn about things like the Internet, how to defend against threats, and how to think like a bad actor. We participate in several fun online competitions that allow us to learn crucial techniques and apply them to our lives.
There are also 4 other competitions to look out for such as: CyberPatriot, CyberStart, MetaCTF, and PicoCTF.
What are your hopes and expectations for this club this year?
My hope for this year is that we can get more people interested in any of the numerous fields of cybersecurity. Whether it be from penetration testing, networking, or information security, I hope the Cybersecurity Club can allure more brilliant minds!
Anything exciting to look out for?
People working in various fields of cybersecurity come to Flint Hill to speak to members of the club. Notable speakers that we’ve invited in the past, have been the CSO of Amazon, former special agents, and more!
Debate Club (Kori Parker, Ayden Laster, Sabien Reck, Hailey Simpson):
About:
A club that focuses on teaching students the fundamentals of debate through: formulating arguments, intense research, creating an organized speech, & creating rebuttal speeches in a timely manner. We also participate in club debates to practice and reinforce the strategies we’ve learned.
What are your hopes and expectations for the club this year?
My hopes for this year are:
- Preparing students for debate league debates
- Help students feel more confident in their classes by learning the debate fundamentals
Anything exciting to look out for?
I’m looking forward to our first debate, where students will be able to use all the strategies that they’ve learned and put them in action.
Spanish Club (Sasha Osinovsky, Omer Aziz Quintana):
About:
The Spanish Club is a meeting place for individuals interested in learning more about Hispanic culture and improving their Spanish skills. Whether that be through trying new foods, playing Cuban dominoes, or listening to reggaeton pop stars like Bad Bunny, we have something for everyone.
What are your hopes and expectations for the club this year?
We hope to spread the love for Spanish within the Husky community, leaving our student body more informed and interested. And most importantly, we hope to inspire more people to learn Spanish!
Anything exciting to look out for?
We have our Day of the Dead Celebration coming up at the beginning of November. In the spring, we are hoping to organize an excursion to Taco Bamba.
Young Democrats (Rohini Kudva, Melina Kalamatianos):
About:
Young Democrats is a club and space for progressive students to talk about Democratic politics and engage with the current events that are affecting us.
What are your hopes and expectations for this school year?
I’m hoping to really emphasize the importance of engaging with local politics and grassroots organizing. Virginia has an important election coming up soon so I am looking forward to talking to our members about expectations and thoughts about that.
Anything exciting to look out for?
Last year, we interviewed Senator Tim Kaine, so it’ll be hard to top that, but we are planning on having speakers, from local democratic organizers to Virginia politicians.
Model United Nations (Andrew McKee, Mary Delvecchio):
About:
Model UN is an opportunity for students to come together to learn about current events around the world.
It allows students to learn about countries they would’ve never thought about, and become more aware of the complex world of global affairs and international relations.
What are your hopes and expectations for this school year?
We will be attending two conferences this year.
Better enough you don’t need to be a committed member, and if you’re interested in trying out, we fully encourage you to try!
Anything exciting to look out for?
As we begin to reopen conferences after COVID, it will give us greater opportunity for more in person interaction with other delegates, and in person simulations.
