“Empowering students in the community through service and leadership. That’s what we’re about,” said Heather Nolan, president of Human Services Club. The club meets on the first and third Wednesday of the month in HUM 121 at 12:15.
Human Services Club connects Cypress College students with local organizations in need of volunteers. Upcoming events include: DoSomething.org’s “Comeback Clothes”, a clothing drive sponsored on campus from March 23-27, April 6-10; Surfrider Foundation’s Beach Clean-up at Seal Beach on April 11; and Ronald McDonald House Walk for Kids on April 12. Students interested in volunteering should attend the next meeting, Wed. March 18th.
Nolan joined Human Services Club in Spring 2014. After learning about the club’s sponsored beach clean-ups, Nolan “saw it as an opportunity to teach my son about community service.” Nolan has served as Human Service Club’s Treasurer in previous semesters; and counts as her favorite club experience an impromptu drive to the Los Alamitos Race Track for Shocktoberfest, because, “it was a really good show of how we help where it is needed.”
Nolan, a Human Services Major, considers teen drug prevention and treatment her area of focus. A former user, Nolan says she sought rehabilitation after not being able to have an honest conversation about drugs with her son, a junior high student. After recovery, Nolan began interning at West Coast Detox in Huntington Beach. Christi Dames, whom she worked under at West Coast, convinced her to go back to school in 2013.
Michelle Tung, a biology major, heard about Human Services Club through a presentation Nolan made in her Developmental Psychology class. Tung graduated from Los Alamitos High School in 2014. She regrets not being more involved in high school, and sees Human Services Club as an opportunity to “breach out and connect with others.” Though Tung is a new member, she currently serves as Human Services Club’s Historian. “The members are really welcoming. I went alone and they came to me with open arms.”
Nolan encourages anyone to join. “Whether you’re in Human Services or not come check us out. It’s an opportunity to meet kind people and make a difference.”
