LHS Senior Creates Meaningful Community Service Project

This article was written by Lynden High School student Sebastian Uribe

The National Honor Society has long been a cornerstone of academic lifeat Lynden High School. As a requirement for membership, every student plans and organizes a yearly community service project. On June 2, we had a fun and educational example from LHS senior Lucy Jones.

Jones organized La Mesa because she became aware ofthe struggle that multi-lingual learners had integrating withLynden’s social environment. She decided that having volunteer students and ML students get to know each other offered a great way to give them opportunities to connect. This connection was fostered through conversation starters and support so that the NHS students could speak to the others in Spanish, and the ML students could speak in English.

Jones knew first-hand how important this was. “I organized this event because I TA [teacher’s assistant] in a predominantly multi-lingual class, and I know the struggle of integrating,” she says, “so I hosted this event to help build connections for all students in our school.”

Olivia Melendez, student volunteer, says that “La Mesa was super fun, it was great to talk to and get to know the ML kids!” 

Laura Toften, ML paraeducator shared: “I loved the way that the NHS students were able to connect and learn from our multi-lingual students!”

One freshman ML student said that, “Me senti comodo, y me senti agradecido con las personas que hicieron esto y quiciera que se sigua haciendo para ajudar las personas que estan llegando y les cuesta trabajo adaptarse [I felt comfortable, and thankful for those who made this possible. I want to see this continue happening to help those who arrive and have a hard time adapting].” 

This project strengthened connections between English-speaking volunteer students and ML learners, bringing students together and making Lynden’s community stronger. The students involved hope to see this tradition continue to help them feel at home and seen in their new environments.