There are a variety of clubs in PVHS, reflecting the deep rooted diversity in this school. But not a lot of clubs directly represent said source of diversity.
Introducing LASA, the Latin American Student Association.
This club started quite recently; LASA has been slowly growing, and it has quickly risen in importance for the school.
They help run some school events, like National Latin American Heritage Month, but LASA is so much more than just what they run.
They represent many students at PVHS, and that’s an extremely important role in the PVHS community.
LASA is an important place for some to connect with their roots.
“To me, LASA is a way for me to honor who I am and the Latin heritage behind me. I get to be a student that gets to represent that, and gets to build a better future for all the Latin Americans, and all the Latinos,” said senior Andrew Moore, one of the co-presidents of LASA.
In LASA, they strive to highlight Latin American culture and create a safe space for Latin American students. They want to educate others on their Latin roots, and have people connect and celebrate their heritage.
“Three years ago, I had a student approach me that felt like there wasn’t enough representation of Latino American culture on our campus,” said LASA co-advisor Christina Varela.
“I encouraged him to push it further, start a club.”
Dedicated to helping Latino students share their culture, Varela has been the advisor to LASA from the start, helping bring some diversity and representation to the PVHS campus, along with helping those students connect with their Latino roots.
LASA isn’t a purely educational club, even though their goal is to educate on Latino culture.
A lot of what LASA does is educate people on the traditions by having them participate in the traditions themselves.
According to co-president junior Sophia LeGallo, they’re “planning on doing potlucks in the future with food from Latin American countries,” along with celebrating a different tradition at every meeting.
LASA is open to anybody who is interested in learning more about Latin American culture and traditions.
Their next meeting is October 15 in Room 414.