AHA Blog: AHA Students Reveal Their Favorite Activities

Educational opportunities extend well beyond the curriculum at Holy Angels. Students at the Academy explore their interests through a wide range of clubs and that focus on outreach and service, business and entrepreneurship, coding, engineering, robotics, broadcasting, writing, psychology, fashion, art, sustainable living, and more. Here’s what some current Angels had to say about their favorite activities.

“I would have to say my favorite AHA activity would be the theater program due to all nice and loving cast members,” Celeste shared. She added that she and her friends enjoy being able to find their own ways to portray certain characters.

The AHA club that makes me happy is the MEDS club, because it helps you to prepare for pre-medicine studies from high school onward, to be successful, and become a doctor later on. It’s very exciting because there are lots of experiments, such as dissection and observing organisms, to prepare you for the ones you’ll take in college and onward when you help someone,” Samma reported. She added that MEDS helps members become resourceful as they are having fun.

Another Angel appreciates BRIDGES, AHA’s club for inclusion. “BRIDGES makes me happy because it is a safe space where I can be myself, a luxury that’s especially meaningful to some of my peers because they can’t be themselves around their own families. We also support each other and commiserate on issues we all face. There’s just a feeling of finding your people once you join.”

Some Angels enjoy more than one AHA activity. Shivani said her TWO favorites are Academy Orchestra and the American Sign Language Club.

“I love being a part of the Academy Orchestra,” Shivani said. “This is my second year being in the orchestra, where I am a cellist. I adore our practices because they show that, although each one of us is at a different level in our playing, we all come together as one to create beautiful music. I am also able to interact with students from all grades, which is something I would not be able to do if I were not involved in student life. After rehearsal, I find myself humming our songs on the way home, leaving me in a bright and cheery mood for the rest of the day. 

“This year will be my second year being a member of the American Sign Language Club at AHA,” she added. “I have been learning basic signs from my maternal aunt, who was born deaf, so I was ecstatic to find out that AHA had an ASL Club. In ASL Club, we learn signs through song, video, and playing games. Each new holiday or season of the year, we get to learn signs pertaining to the specific time. I love being able to continue my studies of ASL in the company of my friends, as well as introduce new signs to our club members.

“Just before COVID, we were beginning to make the club a service club where we would hold events to raise money for deaf organizations and charities. Because we were unable to do this in school, I had the idea to start ‘Sign with Gabi and Shiv,’ with my classmate, Gabriella. We fundraise and raise awareness for deaf culture and organizations. I adore being able to learn new languages and I plan to continue my membership in ASL Club all four years of high school.”

Alexa is delighted to be an Angel Ambassador. “I love being involved in the process of hosting and meeting prospective students,” she explained. “Representing my school through this program gives me the opportunity to meet new people and lead tours at AHA Open Houses.”