By Johana Lastor
One of the most recent additions to Passaic High School’s list of clubs is called Lead for Diversity (LFD). The president of the club, Thania Rubio, who is part of the Class of 2017, said, “LFD is all about acceptance and having an open mind.”
Going further in detail, she said, “In LFD we learn to love others and we help students educate themselves about the diversity that we have in not only in our school but the one that they will encounter after high school.”
The “Let Kindness Stick” Project is on display on the second floor of the M-Wing. Photo by Johana Lastor
Rubio explained that “LFD came to be during the summer of 2016 when five students, including myself, went on a trip where we had no idea what was going to happen. In that trip, we spent five days creating a community with around 60 other students who came from different parts from New Jersey and New York.”
“I have no words to explain the experience in the camp but my peers and I felt like everyone in our school needed to hear what we learned,” she explained. “Due to this, we have worked for hard for the past six months to get this club started at Passaic High School.”
Rubio said her biggest aspiration as the president for LFD is “to be able to reach out not only my school but my community.” She said she hopes “to be able to break the boundaries of division.”
In addition, Passaic High School always talks about wanting to prepare their students for the real world, and Rubio assures that this club brings that by stating, “I wish to make my peers great leaders and great educators not only for the future of LFD but for the real world.”
Not only is LFD making an impact to PHS, but Rubio reassured that they are just getting started. “We have bigs plan for the LFD club; one of the recent ones is the wall of kindness.”
Students get to witness the wall of kindness when walking past the bulletin board that is located on the second floor in the main building next to guidance. Furthermore, Rubio mentioned how the club tried to replicate the subway therapy that is found in New York City that was created after the elections to allow people to express their feelings on a post-it note.
“Since the elections, we know that it’s only going to get harder for communities like ours. The purpose of this wall is that we want people to take some kind of positivity. Through this project it wasn’t only LFD working but it was the whole school joining as one to promote positivity.”
She ended her statement by saying, “It gives me hope as a person that there are still kind people in this world and that is what LFD is all about; it takes one person to make a difference.”
Considering that LFD is one of the newest clubs that PHS has presented, Rubio said, “I hope to reach out to as many people as a club and be able to make people understand that it is okay to have different perspectives on different topics. But we just to become accepting of one another.”
Ultimately, she claimed, “I hope to make a big difference around the school and the community to share love, positivity and hope.”
In essence, LFD is taking a lead for Passaic High School! For more information, talk to the president of the club, Thania Rubio. Make sure to get involved by checking out LFD for yourself in room M217 on Mondays after school!
