Homecoming Royalty

Inter-Club Council Meeting on Oct. 20

Healthcare clubs raise cancer awareness

By Joanne Choi

The ASB-sponsored Cancer Awareness Week will end this Friday, Oct. 17, with the annual Tackle Cancer football game where attendees are encouraged to wear pink. Special pink Tackle Cancer t-shirts are being sold through the football boosters here: https://bit.ly/48HVct4. All proceeds will be donated to the KML Foundation. A check will be presented to the foundation in a brief ceremony at halftime by Principal Jon Caffrey.

Two new student-led healthcare clubs at FUHS are also tackling cancer through their focus on compassionate career exploration. Aspiring Healthcare Leaders and A Thousand Ribbons both share a mission to raise awareness about cancer while providing an opportunity for students to learn more about the medical field as a whole. 

Aspiring Healthcare Leaders meets every other Monday during lunch in Room 10. Junior Ava James founded this club to give students opportunities to explore healthcare careers and connect with people who share similar goals.

“I just really wanted to create opportunities for people who hope to go into the healthcare field to really explore their interests in high school,” James said. “They can build their resumes while also connecting with people who have similar goals and interests.”

James also hopes to bring in guest speakers with real world medical experience.

“I’m trying to get people who have inside knowledge to come and share their expertise. It might help people in their decisions about their own futures,” James said.

Her passion for healthcare sprouts from her own experiences with compassionate medical professionals. 

“They lean into their humanity, and they try to act with their compassion. Because even though this is their job, they see so many patients in a day,” she said. “They remember that this is a very important moment in people’s lives, and it’s important to really have a connection with them.”

Additionally, A Thousand Ribbons meets every Wednesday in Room 33. Founding junior Maya Snow says they learn about a different type of cancer each month and organize fundraisers that spread kindness to patients.

The club hosts an information meeting where they brainstorm fundraisers and go over the type of cancer of that month. For example, at their last meeting, they discussed breast cancer and its effect on women and their families. They also created love letters for Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, sending encouraging messages to young cancer patients in the hospital.

“We just wanted to give them thoughtful messages and tell them that we believe in them and that they can do it,” she said.

Snow also has hopes of one day becoming a pediatrician.

“I’ve always wanted to help people. Being a doctor has always been my main goal,” Snow said. “Helping kids with cancer has always been one of my dreams.”

Fall play opens Nov. 7

FUHS choral presents their fall showcase