On the Same Page, a book club at THHS that strives to foster students’ love for reading, was created by book lovers for book lovers. It started off as just a group of friends with similar tastes in books; they wanted to create an environment where students could not only talk about new releases but meet new people. Junior Funmi Olayemi-Raji, who is the club president, said, “We wanted [On the Same Page] to be not only for reading purposes, but also a social club where we can rant about what happened in the book you’re reading or just connect with someone with a similar interest.”
The club prioritizes making reading fun and more engaging for students. Leaders say they believe that reading can serve as a way to learn about new topics that students may not be exposed to on a regular basis, even pushing for the accessibility of previously banned books. Junior Emily Dong, the vice president of the club, said, “we support the freedom to read whatever books there are for our club. We want students to enjoy reading outside of school and not just for academic purposes. It’s an amazing way to learn about things and explore a wide variety of topics all through literature; therefore, we hope that our club will provide itself to be a space where we can discuss the books we read and have a good time.”
Since its inception last spring, the leaders have strived to create a peaceful and welcoming environment, although planning events and finding interested members became very stressful. With a stronger and bigger board all eager to improve this club, the leaders say they hope to reach a bigger audience of avid readers and students just discovering their love for reading.
“I love working with my friends as well because I know I can rely on them. So far, it makes me happy that there are so many people that took interest in our club, and we hope to keep expanding to create a wonderful community of readers at THHS,” said Emily.
Librarian Arlene Laverde is the club advisor. She said, “I am lucky that the board of this group are a group of independent workers and are self-starters. The group comes into the library for their meeting with activities and discussions already to go. The members of the club are friendly and open. Their club is also a great way to get involved with the Reading Initiative.”
Club member Maliha Mahdiyat Mosharraf said, “There is a very comfortable and welcoming vibe in this club once you get to know everyone and our parties are always so fun.”[widgets_on_pages id=”wop-sidebar”]
Club member Kaileah Eloi said, “I think that the club is a really fun place, not just for reading, but to make friends as well. I’ve gotten to meet a lot of new people and gotten closer with people that I already knew.”
