Joining a new club can be very intimidating for many students, whether it’s something they have or haven’t done before. Now imagine having to join a club where they speak a completely different language that you do not understand, this was the case with Mekai Howard, a sophomore at the Morgan School, when he joined the Spanish Club back in September of the 2024 academic year.

“I first joined the club because I had started to become friends with Spanish-speaking students, and I wanted to learn more Spanish, and get to know more about their culture in order to understand them more,” said Howard.

When Howard first walked into his gym class there was a group of students who only spoke Spanish. He was sure he was going to try to become friends with them. The moment when he felt like he really had to learn Spanish was when one day, while he was in his gym class, he received an invitation from one of the Spanish-speaking girls to go to her Quinceñera, which is a traditional Latin American celebration marking a girl’s 15th birthday.

“This was the first time I was going to attend something that was outside my culture and get to experience a little bit more of Latino culture. I was so excited, but I got nervous at the thought of not knowing Spanish and attending a place where that’s the only language everyone spoke,” said Howard.

After attending this event, and getting a little insight into Spanish culture Howard was really interested in learning more, and being able to speak the language. He decided to join the Spanish Club not only to learn more but also to get to spend more time with his new friends.

Maria Lopez is a Spanish speaking student at the Morgan school. She and a couple of her friends felt that Spanish speaking students were not really involved in school activities as much, and they suggested starting a club that would allow them to be more involved but also get to teach others about their culture. This idea that she had with her friends is what led the Spanish Club to be created.

The Spanish club meets on Wednesdays right after school until 3:15. During the hour, students all speak in Spanish. They will usually watch movies in Spanish, play games like La Loteria (a traditional Mexican board game of chance, similar to bingo, but played with a deck of cards instead of numbered balls), or just talk with each other about how school has been going.

On November 20, 2024 the Spanish club and the FCCLA club got together to make arepas which are a traditional food from both Colombia and Venezuela. It was a good way for the students to do a hands-on activity that would teach them more about Spanish culture but also teach them the language, being that they had to speak in Spanish the whole time.

“One of my favorite moments from the Spanish Club is when we worked with the FCCLA club and made arepas, I got to experience a little bit of Spanish culture and try some of their food,” said Howard. He was speaking in Spanish the whole time and was able to formulate complete sentences and have his friends understand what he was saying. The Spanish club can go beyond just those who speak Spanish; they want people that are not a part of the culture to get an experience and share it with them, and for Howard this is what led him to also want to join the club.

The multicultural night is an event where people that come from different cultures get to prepare food, a dance, or clothes that show people a little bit about their culture, and one was held at Morgan on November 30th of 2023. It was a great way for the Spanish students to show people that are not familiar with the culture more of their traditional foods, dances, and clothes. This 2024-2025 school year there was no multicultural night due to all of the immigration laws that were being passed, and for people’s safety.

“You do not need to speak Spanish in order to join the club,” said Maria Lopez, “we encourage more people that don’t to join; that way we are able to share our culture with them, and we get a different perspective in the club outside of those who speak Spanish”

Being able to master two languages can be very hard, but at the same time it is very useful, especially when the Spanish population, not just in the school but in Clinton, is growing. It all comes down to dedication, and for Howard this was not a problem, he put his mind to being able to speak in Spanish, and be able to have full conversations with people in Spanish, and by almost the end of the year he is now able to have conversations with his Spanish friends.

“My main goal was being able to have a full conversation in Spanish with someone, and after almost a full school year, I am now able to have conversations with my friends,” said Howard. He had a get-together at his house and invited all of his new friends, and when he was thanking everyone for coming, he realized just how much his Spanish had improved when everyone understood him and thanked him for the invite. Howard felt like he finally fit in and had made a group of “awesome new friends.”