Holiday Enrichment Club (HEC) is one of the newest clubs at Cypress Creek High School. With a determined focus on educating the community about different holidays and cultures around the world, HEC has had a positive start.
The majority of HEC’s success can be credited to the hard work of its President and Founder, Eloisa Avila (10).
“I was just interested in making a club that had a different concept from the other clubs I had already seen in school…a specific club that’s interested in trying to educate people in actually knowing what [different holidays] are and what their meaning is and the history behind them. I think it’s a great way to learn about other people’s cultures and just be knowledgeable about the world in general,” said Avila.
It took more than simply an idea to get HEC where it is today as an official club.
“First it was a process of just filling out a form and getting it to the person in charge of approving clubs and that took around two to three months. It wasn’t a really tedious process,” said Avila.
Avila credits much of the ease in this process to the guidance and support of Ms. Briana Sheen, a PACE teacher at Cypress Creek, as well as HEC’s official club sponsor.
“Thanks to my sponsor, Ms. Sheen, it was pretty easy and she helped me along the way as well, and continues to help me too…When I worry too much about [HEC] she helps me in general. She tells me what I need to do and helps me sort things out, which I really appreciate a lot,” said Avila.
HEC also has an ensemble of hardworking officers composed entirely of young women who work to ensure the club maintains a reputable image and is managed properly.
“I don’t have any problems with any of my officers. It comforts me that they’re all well girls, females, like me, because it just feels a bit more comfortable to speak with them and I don’t feel any really awkwardness with them. I think it’s great…I’ve heard this a lot as well from some members that they feel more comfortable talking to our officers because we are all women,” said Avila.
Avila believes that through the combined efforts of both her officers and herself, HEC has well surpassed initial expectations with much more to look forward to.
“We are doing better than I thought we would, to be honest, because on our first meeting a pretty large amount of people attended, which I was very surprised about…The fact that a lot of people came, like even though we didn’t do many big things for the club’s promotion, I think it’s pretty outstanding on our part,” said Avila.
New members to HEC have much to look forward to when it comes to inclusive and entertaining volunteering events.
“One of the main reasons people should join the club is just in general to have fun…I think [volunteering] is a great opportunity to meet other people naturally, like just starting up a conversation. Some of the things we have planned…would be decorating main parts of the school according to what holiday is happening during that time,” said Avila.
Avila believes that the key goal to HEC’s success lies in the relationships built between its members and officers.
“In the future, I hope we can, just, create a sense of…quote-unquote ‘community’ in between the members and the officers where we’re all…comfortable with each other to have a good conversation and so that we reach our goal of actually enriching people of different holidays…I want people to actually learn,” said Avila.
HEC meets every other Wednesday in Room 1248 after school from 3:00 to 3:30. Feel free to join HEC for some complimentary snacks and positive conversation. HEC has much planned for the future, from festive volunteering events to implementing fresh perspectives on the people and cultures that surround us.