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Co-Presidents of Santa Fe High School’s Psychology Club, Elizabeth Serna (left) and Jessika Suos (right), deliver goodie bags to RN Interim Assistant Clinical Director Nicole Garcia and Resident Intern Nurse Tuan Pham during the club’s distribution event
WHITTIER – When Santa Fe High School’s Psychology Club decided they wanted to do a service project that would give back to front line workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, they focused their efforts on health care workers within their local community.
Psychology Club students organized a Gratitude Project at Kaiser Permanente in Downey during the District’s spring break, when co-presidents Elizabeth Serna and Jessika Suos, who are seniors, and AP Psychology Teacher Michele Jones distributed goodie bags full of snacks to nurses.
“We wanted to show our appreciation for the hard work of these dedicated healthcare workers throughout the pandemic,” Serna said.
Members of the club donated food and snacks and organized them in goodie bags. Senior Millie Munoz took the time to crotchet 80 miniature animals to include in the bags. Though they took about eight days to complete, Munoz said the effort was worth it because they would bring joy to someone’s day.
“Psychology Club aims to be a platform where students can feel welcomed,” Suos said. We wanted the club to be a place to create ways to apply Psychology and serve our peers, our school and our community.”
Students also delivered a handwritten letter addressed to the nurses alongside the goodie bags.
“Club Presidents Jessika and Elizabeth have worked hard to design club meetings that provide discussion topics relevant to the club members’ current lives,” Jones said. “They have given them an arena to discuss struggles, successes and the impact of the big changes they have had to endure in the past year while including psychological principles and coping strategies. I am so proud of them.”
Jones went on to say that club members have demonstrated hearts of servitude in what has been a difficult time for them personally.
Santa Fe’s Psychology Club has flourished into a community for students who have a passion for serving others, providing a fun environment where they can talk about a broad range of psychology-related matters.
“These students have a bright future ahead of them. It is service projects such as this one that build character and essential life skills moving forward,” Santa Fe High School Principal Craig Campbell said. “Our Psychology Club students did a phenomenal job in honoring local healthcare workers who have been sacrificing their time and efforts throughout this pandemic.
