Latin American Student Organization has a change in leadership

This year, the Latin American Student Organization (LASO) has new teacher sponsors that are bringing an advancement to the club. The new sponsors,  Jessica Yandun and Gianna Purdom, desire to emphasize the importance of “leadership and Latinx representation” at OH as well as in the community.

LASO meets twice a month on Thursdays at 2:30 pm, and meetings are around 45 minutes to an hour. The club has a friendly environment, and with its members all wanting to make a positive impact on OH and the community.

“We thought about over the summer what pillars we want to talk about,” Purdom said. This preparation led them to consider “events that give scholarships, have fundraisers, and different types of community service.”

Since the club members have so much freedom to choose the direction they want to take, there are still a lot of ideas being discussed for events this year. The club meetings are where these conversations are had in a group.

“We are talking about doing something with Feed My Starving Children, and we are thinking of more ideas for the second semester, ” said junior Lucas Rango, class of 2025, a current member of LASO.

The club has planned and done a few events so far this year like the “Comunicarte” where students enrolled in high-level Spanish classes helped less experienced students with their Spanish speaking skills.

According to Yandun, events like this will be “making more leaders out of the members of the club.”

A major way that the sponsors of this club help students develop their leadership skills is by giving them a lot of control over what the club does and how meetings are run. Mrs. Purdom explained how the sponsors of LASO want the students themselves to take the initiative to do things that will help them feel more represented in the school.

This intentional shift of focus is what the sponsors and members of the club believe to be what will make the organization more impactful. LASO has the goal to not only improve the livelihood of students at OH, but also make a positive impact on the community.

“You don’t need to be Latino to join the club, or if there is someone who is interested but doesn’t speak Spanish they can also join,” Purdom said. LASO is open for anyone interested in the at OH regardless of ethnicity.

Be on the lookout for flyers around OH regarding upcoming events for LASO. If you have any further questions, you can stop by Yandun’s or Purdom’s classrooms (rooms 263 and 264, respectively) or email them at jyandun@sd308.org and gpurdom@sd308.org.