From engaging with local council members to learning leadership experiences through senate members, Diamond Bar High School’s Politics Society has invited many students to see the beauty of politics through innovative events.
Senior and current president, Chloe Schaefer, has always had a passion for politics. Alongside junior co-president, Nina Wu, the pair created Politics Society in 2022 aimed to encourage students to engage with their community, learn more about politics and enact their own change through political activism.
“I really hope that through the club I’m able to help people realize the impacts that bills passed by Congress have,” Schaefer said. “Politics is not about the big impacts, but it’s about the small incremental change that happens every single day that’s impacting people’s lives one by one.”
Politics Society’s events not only offer opportunities for members to interact with policy makers in our community, but it has also given them a chance to explore future career paths within politics. One event included the club’s guest panels from students from universities such as George Washington University, UCLA and UNC to speak on their experiences in the fields of political science and journalism.
“It was inspiring to see the people who showed up getting a lot out of every event, and it makes me very inspired and happy to know that we created those events,” Wu said.
They have also been able to teach their members the importance of leadership in the field of politics and in their communities. The club’s recent leadership symposium gave members a way to gain leadership opportunities and learn lessons about leadership skills from guest speakers such as senate member, Josh Newman, DBHS principal David Hong and council member Andrew Chou.
“There’s power in being able to take action in your community, and be a leader,” Wu said. “We want to instill that into our members, and we want them to continue being a leader.”
The club not only acts as an outlet for students to be able to grow their passions for politics, but it has helped students gain the confidence to utilize their voices and willingness to enact change, and it’s ultimately helped to deem politics as a subject that’s not as scary as it seems.
“I hope in the future we are able to engage and change Diamond Bar’s students’ ideas about politics,” Schaefer said.
