When the officers of the Chinese Culture Club left for college, Joshua Zhang eagerly volunteered to keep the club going at FMHS. But after Zhang noticed a lack of Asian representation within clubs on campus, he and the other officers, Ida Harried, Brian Ko, Steven Song, and Patrick DeSouza, decided to expand the scope of Chinese Culture Club to a celebration of all Asian cultures. However, the officers initially struggled to expand the diversity of their members. “In order to tackle this challenge, we pretty much invited everyone we knew to our meetings and encouraged them to invite their friends as well,” Zhang said. Now, the Asian Culture Club is composed of both Asians from diverse backgrounds and non-Asians who enjoy exploring Asian culture. 

In meetings, Zhang said that members of the Asian Culture Club immerse themselves in “the history, traditions, culture, and some interesting facts about the Asian country that was chosen to be learned about in a slideshow and then have some food from the country (mostly snacks) to experience a part of their culture. Each week, [they] pick a new country/region to learn about and sometimes dedicate meetings to celebrating important Asian holidays like Korean Thanksgiving and Chinese New Year.” Because the current officers are seniors, they will be passing on leadership to the underclassmen next year. Zhang eagerly described how “[the underclassmen have] shown so much passion for the club that it just seems like the next natural step forward for the club.” A special memory the members made was when they learned about Taiwan and made homemade boba, their favorite drink, as a club. Zhang explained that “this memory is extra special because of the backstory of obtaining the materials to make the boba. We had to go on a wild goose chase across DFW to find the pearls and even made our own homemade tea to go with it.” For those looking to start a club of their own, Zhang emphasizes the importance of “creat[ing] an environment where anyone can feel comfortable. It’s not fun to be a part of a club where you constantly feel like an outsider, which is why we try to create a fun and inviting environment at the Asian Culture Club.”

Join the Asian Culture Club during meetings held every other Thursday in Mrs. Wilhite’s room (2445) after school. If you want to stay updated with meeting dates, click the link in their Instagram bio (@fmhs_acc) to join their Discord server!