(June 11, 2004)

Pre-Med Club

Anderson W. Clark Magnet High School is an institution that emphasizes science and technology. Does this mean that no student from Clark has the inspiration to hold a profession in the medical field? Like many Clark students interested in biomedicine, Arin Khodaverdian wanted to become a medical malpractice attorney.

Khodaverdian believed that Clark has all the technological benefits, hence the name. But since Khodaverdian wanted more than technology, he took the initiative to begin a club known as Pre-Med. Pre-Med, a club started in Sept. 2002, meets every Thursday during tutorial in Virginia Benzer’s room and focuses on educating students interested in the medical field. They occasionally have guest speakers who work in the medical profession and take field trips to research labs. According to Khodaverdian, the club has been very successful ever since it began.

-- Mark Landig

---

Women's Studies Club “Cosmetic chicks,” “bootylicious babes” and “hot-hot hotties” are some typical media stereotypes of women. Seeking to understand these labels and society’s perception of women, Lusine Chorekchyan and Armine Gukasyan established the Women’s Studies Club under advisor Mary Mardirosian.

Chorekchyan began the club as a heartfelt promise to her best friend who wanted to start one but had to leave Clark. Thus, in October 2002, president Chorekchyan, vice president Gukasyan, and secretaries Tatevik Galstyan and Marine Keshishyan launched Women’s Studies.

The club meets once a week at Wednesday during lunch. “We wanted to gather girls together to talk about what is real [about women] other than media images and what opportunities there are for girls today,” said Gukasyan. The club also invited guest speakers such as a female police officer who gave safety tips for girls when walking on streets and a Sephora representative who gave cosmetic tips on looking natural.

“It was a great experience for me,” said Galstyan. “It gave me rigorous strength and confidence to be the woman I am.”

--Lorilee Quizon

---

Chess Club

The stereotypical game contains either cards, a computer or a television. Chess, however, does not fit in any of those categories. Chess is a game that “enhances students strategic thinking,” as Ben Tjoelker puts it. Seeing as Clark students indulge in intellectual thinking, it’s no wonder Chess Club thrives. Treasurer Matt Teleski, vice president/secretary Philip Kahn and club advisor Stephanie Sajjadieh run Chess Club every Wednesday during enrichment.

Students not only play chess, but they study it. All students are welcome to discuss, play and watch. Experienced players meet to compete and pass on their knowledge to newbies. Rookies come to watch and learn new strategies. They also converse about books of chess. Others can simply socialize with the elite chess members. This year students held a tournament for those wanting to compete against each other. The prize was one of the 15 new boards bought by the money donated from fellow club members, parents and others. Junior Narek Der-Sahakian and sophomore Ben Tjoelker were the finalists, but the competition continued for so long that they decided to end in a draw and donate the prize back to their club.

--Amanda Nanakorn

---

Filipino-American Club

Off in the distance, you can see girls jumping up and down between clashing sticks. These Filipina girls dance more intensely when the beat of the sticks grow faster. This traditional dance is known as the tinikling, which is a dance that the Filipino/American (Fil/Am) Club performed during the talent show. Started by senior Frances Ridad in Nov. 2003, Fil/Am Club is a club that introduced Filipino culture at Clark.

The club’s purpose was to show the Clark student body a prominent dance that briefly explains the Filipino beliefs. Expecting to accomplish a dance conducted by the members of the club, they had to meet every Friday during tutorial at club advisor Diana Connely’s room, and every Tuesday and Friday after school at Toll Middle School. They practiced for about three hours at Toll, with their dance coordinator Ms. Kho. According to Ridad, after having practiced for many hours, the club was able to perform a dance that impressed the audience.

-- Mark Landig

---

Auto Club

Every Tuesday Clark’s car enthusiasts flock together to learn more about their automotive hobby. Towards the end of the 2002-2003 school year, Erik Dalir founded Clark’s Auto Club, which has been in existence for a little over a year. Clark, being a rare school with a student parking lot but also no machining or shop class, helped Dalir take action. “We don’t have a car shop here, Hoover does, so I thought of getting people interested into cars and to teach them how to work on them,” said Dalir.

The club is intended to get people into the mechanics of cars and to educate them about whatever questions they might have. Questions range from the simple mechanics behind a car to learning how to improve the performance on their car. Improving the car’s performance is important for race enthusiasts so the car club is also a great way for fellow race enthusiasts to share their experiences. According to Dalir, “Most people drive cars without knowing or paying attention to how they work.” Dalir personally works on his own car and modifies it so he has experience with working with cars and wishes to share what he knows. Even though Dalir will be graduating with the class of 2004, hopefully the club will continue for the next school year and only grow in size.

--Samuel Kim

---

Armenian Club

Whether it is La Crescenta or Glendale, the Armenian community is not portrayed as a minority race anymore, considering its population exceeds other ethnic minorities in Glendale. This is also true at Clark. In April 2003, Gagik Gulfayan started Armenian Club at Clark to show others how amazing and rich the Armenian culture can be. Gulfayan is the current president of the club and says its main purpose is to “help educate students about the Armenian culture and its tolerance.”

Fortunately, the club has been more active than when it was first started since it has held more than four events so far this year. One of the major events that were a success was March 12, when Clark, Glendale, Hoover and Crescenta Valley High raised $12,000 for Armenian communities. Gulfayan assures that Armenian Club is not only limited to Armenians, but to anyone who whishes to learn more about the Armenian nationality. The club benefits the students at Clark because it gives a broader standpoint and understanding on different ethnic groups in society today. Gulfayan believes that the world would be a better place if everyone would give the time to actually relate to one another.

--Sarah Kim

---

Future Business Leaders of America

Leadership qualities are mandatory for success when stepping out into the real world after years of school. One of the many clubs offered at Clark is FBLA. The acronym stands for the Future Business Leaders of America, which serves to strengthen and grow leadership skills. The club held their first meeting in February led by Sarah Kwon.

Kwon suggested the club to advisor Stephanie Sajjadieh after hearing of it from a friend who was involved in FBLA at Hoover. Kwon says that she did not have any trouble managing the club because “there were no guidelines to run it.” FBLA members bond through activities such as community service and conventions. At the conventions, there are seminars and workshops that are open for anyone wishing to attend. The intention of the conventions is to bring people closer together by helping them build confidence as future leaders. With the confidence of applying leadership qualities in life comes the confidence and greatness of leading the future.

--Sarah Kim

---

Seniors who started clubs:

1. Pre-Med Club: Arin Khodaverdian
2. Women's Studies Club: Lusine Chorekchyan and Armine Gukasyan
3. Chess Club: Khachik Parmakzyan
4. Filipino-American Club
5. Auto Club: Erik Dalir
6. Armenian Club: Gagik Galfayan
7. Future Business Leaders of America: Sarah Kwon