One of the best ways to enhance the high school experience is to get involved. OHS offers a wide range of extracurricular activities and student-led events, each providing unique benefits such as meaningful social connections and skill development. This year, the tradition of excellence continued as clubs expanded their opportunities and excelled in their events.
A recently founded after school activity at OHS, STEM club, provides students with engaging ways to apply academic skills in a real world context. Aspects of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics are incorporated in order to cater to the interests of different students. The STEM club was also able to reach out to and partner with leadership at the nearby chip plant.
“We do different things in each portion. We do water rockets, elephant toothpaste outside, and we also partner[ed] with the chip company TSMC [Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company] to have a speech in our school,” said Howard Lin, junior.
Another club that fosters community at OHS is Culture Connect. Students share their heritage and learn about cultures from around the world. The club’s greatest triumph this year was its involvement in the culture festival.
“So far we have been going to the Mountain Ridge culture festival and it’s been successful. It was a lot of fun. It’s a really good experience for people to come and try a bunch of different foods and learn about all the different cultures. We have a ton of food and activities people can try,” said Aubrey Baker, sophomore.
A great deal of hard work was put into organizing and setting up booths. The future is bright for Culture Connect as they plan to expand for the upcoming school year.
“I’m looking forward to adding new things. I know we want to try having a culture festival on our campus so I think we will try and do that,” Baker said.
One of the most popular student-led organizations on campus, Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA), centers around Career and Technical Education courses offered at OHS. There is a wide variety of events students can participate in, such as journalism or accounting.
“It’s an opportunity for people to compete in skills that they learn in classes that might not otherwise be tested and step into the professional world through networking, conferences, and internships,” said Emily Smitten, senior.
Overall, FBLA has been extremely successful in its pursuits. They are now looking forward to nationals, which will take place in California over the summer.
“This was actually a very good year for us. At regionals we received 37 medals. At state we received 30 awards overall. We are set to take 25 people to nationals, last year we took 15 so this is a record breaking year. Not only that, O’Connor placed third in the state as a school overall for FBLA,” Smitten said.
Academically based clubs, such as Mock Trial, may seem daunting or overwhelming, however there are effective teaching structures in place throughout the school year in order to mitigate fears. Students become more comfortable and confident after regularly practicing.
“When the school year first starts, we review objections, exceptions, and the overall structure of mock trial… Around November, we get a case from AZ Law for Kids and we dissect that case, find ways to argue on both sides of the case, and then at the beginning of March we compete at the Maricopa County Superior Court downtown,” said Mythri Konatham, senior.
This year, the students were able to either defend or prosecute a murder trial. However, mock trial offers many unique experiences that extend beyond practicing law in a real courtroom.
“We collaborate with real lawyers. They help us and teach us about real world law, plus any things about the case that don’t make complete sense to us, they are able to explain because they are experts,” Konatham said.
There are a great number of clubs that combine academics with performance. Model United Nations teaches current and past events through diplomacy, and includes all committees and agencies such as the World Health Organization or the Human Rights Council.
“It is exactly what it sounds like. It is a simulation of what the UN does, so each of the delegates of those UN bodies are represented by students. Students act as that diplomat or that country and argue that perspective. It allows students to gain a wider world view,” said Elena Murrietta.
While balancing how to prepare students for the rules of conferences and keeping the club diverting is difficult, Model UN has overcome the challenge.
“At SUN MUN at the Arizona State University Tempe Campus, we had two delegates win. Emerson Lihn and Shloka Nair won best delegates for their Build a Nation committee. Then at AZMUN at U of A [University of Arizona], Uzayr Ansari won for best position paper. AZMUN is something that O’Connor has a reputation for going to. Every year we’ve had delegates that win awards so presenting well at these committees is something that is expected for our club,” Murrietta said.
Other extracurriculars do not have one or two competitions to prepare for and can be frequently found at events on weekends. Speech and Debate focuses on public speaking, research, writing, and argumentation techniques.
“We have multiple competitions throughout the year at multiple locations, We have had more member engagement. In terms of success, this is a lot of our members’ first time competing so we have had good results with that. For me personally, I’ve placed semifinals and finals multiple times,” said Elizabeth Young, junior.
The common thread that connects all the extracurricular activities at OHS is that they provide a platform for students to explore their interests and collaborate with their peers.
“It’s a really great club if you hope to go into a field with law or public policy and advocacy,” Young said.
