The Persian Club at Aliso Niguel High School strives to spread awareness of the Persian community and culture to unite all Persians together for everyone to achieve something valuable of their own. The president, Ava Menhaji (10), and vice president, Atrisa Taghizadeh (10), work together to educate the members of their club, so that everyone leaves from their club meeting with something new while getting to experience meeting new people.
Menhaji states, “With the Persian Club, it is my goal to share different aspects of what our beautiful culture is a part of and some of the traditions we do throughout the span of the year.”
The ANHS Persian Club unites the community by educating its members on what is going on in Persian culture and the issues going on further than what the media shows. The club hosts events in order to bring Persians and other people together to form a welcoming environment in their similar curiosity and interest in Persian culture.
The original founder and president of the club, Milad Davaran, devoted this club to bring attention to important issues that occur in Iran. He did this by advocating for protests and posting on the club’s social media about specific events that people should take time to acknowledge.
The Persian Club also aims to help people from Iran improve their English speaking skills as well as helping others who want to be better at speaking Farsi. Languages help communities better understand different cultures and they provide a voice for their own country and people.
Soushia Moghadam (11) is the secretary of the club, and he says, “In my opinion, people need to keep the culture of their own family and country alive and just keep making it better.”
Acknowledging the roots in which someone is from helps them build an identity and form cultural ties to the people around them. It is also important to stay connected with their traditions because it lets future generations keep the significant lifestyle that people’s ancestors grew up with.
Menhaji shares, “I think it is important for students at Aliso Niguel to expand their knowledge about the various cultures present on our campus. Our school specifically has a very large Persian community, and I believe it is important to share our culture around the school.”
The Persian club goes over current events that the members can participate in and ways they can help. Presentations are also provided during the meeting for special Persian occasions such as Shabe Yalde, Chahar Shanbe Soori and Eide Nowruz. These are three commonly celebrated holidays among Persians.
The Persian Club hopes to continue to expand their club while involving and impacting every member of their group through fun events and activities.
Students at ANHS who want more education on the culture of other students around them and in their community or who would like to connect to their cultural ties are welcome to join the club. The meetings are held the second Friday of every month in P-22.
