By James ’27
A few months ago, on my first day of school at Harvard-Westlake, I was exploring the campus during a free period. I descended wooden steps into a heavily planted area I did not know of, and soon discovered a bench by what looked like a pond. However, it had no water in it, and was full of dirt and leaves. I found the naturalistic environment by the “pond” calming, however, I could only imagine how much the area would be elevated if the pond were to be restored. This is how I got my idea for a school Beautification Club.
I looked through the extensive list of Harvard-Westlake clubs to see if there was anything like my idea. I was impressed by the many other great student-lead clubs, but found nothing like my vision for a school Beautification Club. So I began my planning. After discussing my idea with Mr. Keith Jordan–who is the faculty member in charge of helping students start clubs–we determined that my club could be a partnership between middle school students and the maintenance team, and that we would work on different projects around campus throughout the year, including the pond. I further discussed my idea with administrative assistant Ms. Gen Reyes, who referred me to Middle School Plant Manager and a leader of the Harvard-Westlake Middle School Maintenance Team, Mr. Alfredo Contreras. Mr. Contreras was just as excited about the club as I was, and he took on the role of faculty advisor. Within a few weeks, our first meeting took place.
I told some of my friends about it, and the club now has 9 key members. We meet on Wednesdays, and are currently working on the restoration of the pond. We get to use equipment like pressure washers and high power pumps, and the members of the Beautification Club enjoy giving back to the campus in a tangible way.
It feels great to have watched my idea go from possibility to reality, and to work with the unsung heroes of our campus, the maintenance team. The process of starting the Beautification Club was truly enjoyable and rewarding, and I can’t wait to see what we achieve this year. If you would like to learn more about HW Clubs, I recommend you look at the full list on the Harvard-Westlake website.
