At Oak Park High School, junior co-presidents Nini Tu and Jessica Ding are taking the initiative to celebrate Asian cultures through the Asian American Pacific Islander Club. The club meets once a month on Thursdays in Ling Zhu’s room (H-03) and brings together students interested in cultural exchange, community service and learning about Asian traditions.

“We aim to educate members on different aspects of Asian culture, and also encourage them to participate in community engagement events such as those [the Conejo Chinese Cultural Association] organizes,” Tu said. “[We] encourage everyone to become better members of their community by participating in civic engagement.”

On Thursday, Oct. 16, the club held its first meeting, where they observed the holidays of Diwali and the Mid-Autumn Festival from the Indian and Chinese cultures.

“We provided traditional snacks from each culture, such as [Indian mixture] and mooncakes,” Tu said. “We also did a spin on the Chinese tradition of guessing lantern riddles, and the winner would get chocolate coins, because winners of the Chinese riddles would get money.”

In the future, the club plans on recognizing holidays from other Asian countries.

“We’re going to celebrate Children’s Day for Korea soon,” Ding said. “We’re also going to do a potluck at the end of the semester, and have people bring Indian, Chinese and Japanese food.”

While preparing for upcoming events, the co-presidents reflect on their club’s growth.

“We’re really proud of what the AAPI Club has grown to, with over 80 signups during club week and huge attendance rates at our meetings,” Tu said. “I’m really grateful for everyone who is involved in this club in any way.”

Tu invites all OPHS students to join.

“Anyone is welcome to join, regardless of whether or not they have Asian heritage,” Tu said. “We have snacks and fun games and activities, and we’re always around friends here.”