The Appreciating Cultures and Ethnicities Club is where students feel seen. ACE Club focuses on celebrating diversity and creating a space for everyone.
The club meets every Monday after school. Meetings are held in the library and are usually led by the president, senior Joyce Messak, or other student leaders on the executive board. Students start off by catching up or doing an icebreaker, then move into planning projects and events. Sometimes, they also have open discussions where students talk about current events.
“During these meetings, we usually work on projects like making the bulletin board that we have in front of the library or work on planning events like the multicultural potluck or the multicultural family night,” said sophomore Ishan Shreyakar. “If we are not doing that, we like to have safe discussions either on current events or just things that people want to get off their chests.”
People join ACE for many different reasons, but most of them connect back to feeling included.
“I joined the ACE Club because I wanted more cultural representation in the school,” said Shreyakar. “Being part of ACE allowed me to freely express my culture and help others do the same.”
Not only is it important to celebrate yourself, but it is also important to celebrate and learn about others.
“I wanted to learn more about different cultures and promote understanding and acceptance among other students,” said senior vice president Juliet Lai.
Throughout this year ACE hosted several major events that brought the school’s sense of community together. One of its biggest is the multicultural family night, where students and families gather and celebrate different cultures from around the world. Students set up displays with food, games, and information. The event is especially welcoming for families from different backgrounds and helps everyone learn
about each other.
Another popular event is the multicultural potluck. ACE Club members from different cultural backgrounds bring in dishes of food that represent their culture and share them with others. The event also includes games like trivia, making it both fun and educational.
“Each person brought in food that represented their culture, it was a massive success,” said club advisor Ellen Sheehy.
When Masco hosted the French and Spanish exchange students, the ACE Club decided to hold an event for them. Exchange students participated in activities, answered questions, and learned about each other’s cultures. It gave students a chance to connect and build friendships across different countries.
In addition to events, ACE members also work to improve the school itself. They meet with school committees to talk about ways to improve the school’s inclusivity. People share ideas about diversity, school policies, and how to better support all students.