The rhythmic tapping of feet blends with the gentle drumming of music as bright clothing sways across the view of onlookers. From the performance, the audience witnesses a celebration of White Station High School’s (WSHS) cultural diversity through the incorporation of food, color and community.

The Strive Together Club represents more than just WSHS students, it represents the cultures and backgrounds that have shaped so many individuals to be who they are today. The club itself stands to celebrate the cultures of the world and provide an environment for all students to feel welcome and connected to the WSHS community. 

“With Strive Together, our main mission is just like cultural inclusivity,” Liana Markos (12) said. “That’s really why we created [the club]. Just celebrating, you know, cultures from all over the world and [to] just figure out what makes us special.”

The Strive Together Club was founded in 2021 when Markos first established the idea for a club that would be used to celebrate cultural diversity and become a resource for English as a Second Language (ESL) students. Markos, along with her Co-President, Ira Sharma (12), and teacher sponsor, Sarah Altareb, formed the club with two goals in mind: to help ESL students connect to the WSHS community as a whole and to promote cultural inclusivity. 

“Our mission was ‘how can we help ESL students break out of their bubbles?’” Markos said. “Then I was like, ‘you know what, how about [we] merge sort of out from that and include all students’ so we can share our cultures. The ESL students can share their culture and learn from each other.”

Student-led activities allow ESL students to practice their English in a social environment through personal connections with members of the Strive Together Club. The overall student body is also given a chance to socialize through the celebration of the cultures that make up the WSHS. 

“I think [the Strive Together Club] has helped spread more awareness of the cultural differences here in the school,” Altareb said. “It’s celebrating cultural differences by celebrating or by making and creating events for other culture’s holidays.”

Club meetings occur during lunch as a way to include students who are unable to attend after-school events. Meetings have consisted of sharing ghost stories from around the world, hosting a multicultural ‘Xmas’ party and language learning workshops.

“I think [the club is] a bigger issue than White Station,” Alanna Pinkney (12), a Strive Together Club leader, said. “It starts at White Station, but it gets a lot bigger than that. It’s really hard to meet new people, to get adjusted, … so having a club that is dedicated to considering everybody, despite their race, their ethnicity [and] their culture … we accommodate all of it.”

The biggest celebrations that the Strive Together Club has hosted have taken place at the school’s outdoor eating area. These community celebrations include group dances and inclusive activities such as rangoli chalk drawing during WSHS’s recent Diwali celebration.

“[At one celebration], we had performances there, we had food [and] we had some games that we had so much fun we forgot to even put them out,” Pinkney said. “We had some food out there, that was a disaster but I loved it anyway … People were just having a great time [participating.]”

The club is attempting to incorporate smaller meetings throughout the year that focus more on tutoring than just large celebrations. Study groups could provide a way for students to grow the community through academics as well as culture. 

“[The Strive Together Club] also wanted to help students academically, not just socially,” Altareb said. “Academically, [ESL students] have gotten more chances to have one-on-one tutoring sessions with the club members who speak English as a first language or who are more fluent in English.” 

Student participation and interest is the driving force that pushes the growth of club meetings and celebrations. Interest in the Strive Together Club has spread past the school and now involves parents who make cultural dishes for the club’s celebrations and events. 

“My favorite part [of being a part of the club] is definitely seeing people dress up, seeing people dancing,” Markos said. “I know like with the Hispanic Heritage Month, the students were dancing … I was like ‘I want to dance that and learn how to do it’ … When students’ parents make food for the club, that’s always really heartwarming.”

The WSHS community, although large, allows participants to recognize the differences in themselves and celebrate what makes each student special. The club strives to create a tight-knit and inclusive environment that celebrates all students and cultures.

“People who speak different languages, sometimes they have just moved here, sometimes they are missing their family and … being able to share their culture with people who, you know, may not know their culture, makes them feel a lot happier to be here at White Station,” Pinkney said. “We’re sort of creating a culture.”