The Multicultural Club has existed at Hastings High School for upwards of 15 years and is currently run by Scott Engberg.
This year, the club has 26 students of all ethnicities. They currently have Hispanic, Asian, Black and Caucasian students. Engberg has hopes that more students will join the club this year.
“Anyone of any race is welcome,” Engberg said.
He says that he will always try to consider everyone’s needs and goals in the club.
“We tend to lean towards Hispanic events, since a majority of our students are Hispanic, and we try to accommodate as many people as possible,” Engberg said.
Many of these events include things like college tours, movie nights, leadership conferences, community service and cooking nights.
“Sometimes we’ll get together at my house and make something ethnic like crepes, or German and Hispanic dishes,” Engberg said.
Engberg has many specific plans for the club this year. They will be going to a Latino Summit at UNL, touring the Southeast Community College in Lincoln, and many other things.
Engberg tries to gear the club towards encouraging students to attend college. At every event, he tries to include an educational experience as well as a fun one.
“One year we went to the Nebraska Museum of History in the morning, and in the afternoon we went to the Big Apple. We also sometimes go to the zoo,” Engberg said.
Valerie Salaz, a junior, who has been in the club for 3 years, is experiencing her first year as president of the diverse club.
“My favorite part is having fun on all the trips, you also get a lot of opportunities to see colleges, and you befriend a lot of kids with other cultures,” Salaz said.
Salaz has many new duties she must perform as president. Some of these include running meetings when Engberg isn’t available and communicating with club members about upcoming events.
Multicultural Club meets every other Thursday in the cafeteria after school. To join the club, simply attend one meeting.
As Engberg said, “The more the merrier!”
