The newest honor society at Oakton is making its mark on the school community and has not disappointed. In honor of Chinese New Year, the Oakton Chinese Honor Society hosted a school wide celebration in the cafeteria last Thursday, February 15, complete with activities, live entertainment, and food. Led by presidents Jasmine Foo, Jackie Yang, and Wen Ip, the Chinese Honor Society pulled off an extravagant celebration that was a festive hit. The event was after school and attracted a large crowd of students who were all eager to take part in the festivities.

Hosting this celebration was no easy task, though. The event required collaboration and team effort from the honor society’s leaders, members, and teacher sponsors. President Jasmine Foo (11) was inspired to put on such an event through her own appreciation for Chinese culture. Although not Chinese herself, Jasmine has taken Chinese as her foreign language course since freshman year. Now in Chinese 4, Jasmine has taken initiative and worked together with two other peers to create a reputable honor society. She said, “This event called for lots of planning. We had to come together as a team and brainstorm as well as make arrangements very far in advance. The biggest difficult was definitely gauging interest in the event. Prior to the after school celebration, we created a sign-up sheet but saw that only a little more than 20 people had signed up. However, when I got to the cafeteria after school on Thursday, there were many people already waiting inside. The best thing about the event was that it was open and welcome to all students at Oakton. Students did not have to be Chinese or take Chinese in order to attend. Many Chinese students brought along their friends, which helped us reach our goal of spreading awareness of this festival and educating others on Chinese traditions and culture.”

The highlight of the event was undoubtedly the performance by the Oakton Asian American Student Association which kicked things off. The Asian American Student Association (AASA) is a club at Oakton that meets over the year to prepare for their dance performance in the Culture Fest. This year, AASA will be performing an umbrella dance followed by a fan dance, and was invited by the Chinese Honor Society to perform at the New Year Festival. Joria Le, founder and president of AASA, saw a lack of cultural clubs at Oakton that represented Eastern minorities. She said, “I decided to create AASA to encompass all Asian students and resonate their cultures with the Oakton community. Everyone pulls from different backgrounds, cliques, and interests, and when we merge together, we make a strong-held community supporting one another in academics, extracurricular activities, and ultimately culture. AASA makes Oakton more united. Its premise is a tight-knit community for those who represent a few, offering students a chance to embrace native culture individually yet collectively. I want to leave behind a legacy for future Oakton students with such integrative community allowing for amity and camaraderie outside of academics.” AASA’s performance was a hit at the celebration and many enjoyed watching the dancers perform their fan dance.

All in all, the 2018 Oakton Chinese New Year Celebration was a success for its first year. As the Chinese Honor Society expands and their influence increases throughout Oakton, we can hope that this celebration will soon become an annual tradition and continue to become even more extravagant year by year.