The world is a diverse place, teeming with various ethnicities, cultures, races, sexual orientations, and religious beliefs. Every person in this world is unique, yet there are similarities between each of us. Timber Creek is no exception to the world of diversity and an upcoming club hopes to shine a light on the different personalities and communities within the school.
Operation Unity came into existence as a subset of Principal Somerhalder’s Executive Student Cabinet, from which several smaller groups were founded to address the various needs and interests of the student body.
“One such interest was to build community and embrace diversity among our students,” said club sponsor Jessica Brink.
The club’s mission statement states: “We, the equal, open minded, hopeful Falcons of Operation Unity are here to create a more accepting environment, embrace diversity, support and encourage our fellow peers, integrate pride, and educate our community in the assortment of heritages represented in our school by celebrating who we are, building community and using different media platforms to inform and highlight the cultures on our campus.”
Timber Creek is home to students of many different cultures and upbringings, perhaps even more than most students realize. Operation Unity hopes to highlight each of these cultures by holding a map pinning during lunches on Wednesday, May 15 and Thursday, May 16. Students are encouraged to place a pin in the country of their origin to show just how diverse the campus truly is. The 4×6 foot map will later be mounted near the south entrance of the school as a permanent representation of the campus’ various cultures.
Future plans for Operation Unity include hanging flags of different countries in the library to accentuate each community within the school and showcase a different culture of the month on the club’s twitter account. Club president, Cymfani Jones, also hopes to collaborate with the language department. She would love to hold a celebration where people can showcase and educate others about their cultures, be it with a dance, signature food item, clothing or anything else that represents who they are and where they are from.
Operation Unity plans to meet the first and third Wednesday morning of each month in Brink’s room, M211. The club will have a sign-up sheet during the map pinning that students are invited to sign if they are interested in learning more about the club or would like to join.
“Interested students should have a desire to embrace diversity and want to celebrate the multicultural community that makes TCHS,” said Brink. “These students need to commit to attending the bi-monthly meetings, participate in any club events and sign our mission statement.”
Anyone interested in sharing about their culture and making the school a more welcoming environment can subscribe to the club on the Timber Creek Talon app. They will then be able to receive immediate updates about Operation Unity, as well as a calendar of meetings and event dates. Operation Unity hopes to grow both in members and scope over time, with continuously innovative ideas for embracing diversity and showcasing the various personalities and cultures within the very walls of our school.