GLC leader achieves big goals

THIS GIRL HAS GOALS

Junior thrives in Girls Leadership Committee and on the soccer field

JOSEPHINE PHILLIPS OPINIONS EDITOR | ISABELLA DIPATRI MANAGING EDITOR

Junior Susan Shobeiri grins from ear to ear as she counts the total number of feminine hygiene products from McLean’s Girls Leadership Committee’s (GLC) collection drive: a grand total of 32,626 tampons, panty liners and pads.

The GLC is a club that focuses on teaching young women important skills for future careers and preparing them for positions of power.

Shobeiri is proud to be one of the student co-leaders of the group. She has been a member of the GLC since her freshman year and has held leadership positions since her sophomore year.

“Our main focus is to empower and inspire girls in our communities, specifically at McLean, to go after their goals and do what they want, given the current social climate,” Shobeiri said.

Being involved with the GLC has affected Shobeiri’s life in several ways.

“It has given me a lot of opportunities to connect with people who have similar goals to me, and it has allowed me to do things within my community that I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to do,” Shobeiri said.

According to Shobeiri, the skills she has learned during her time in the club can easily translate into future careers. She urges all girls to apply themselves in any way possible, especially if they fear failure.

“I think the kind of formal and professional atmosphere of writing emails and making calls is going to be the biggest way that I use these leadership skills in my future,” Shobeiri said.

In addition to leading the GLC, Shobeiri stands out on the soccer field. She verbally committed to Boston University as a goalkeeper for women’s soccer in October 2020, and she will officially commit this coming fall.

“We are so excited for her,” Eileen West, Shobeiri’s mother, said. “Boston is a fabulous university for students, and the school offers tremendous academic opportunities. They have a wonderful well-established Division I women’s soccer program with one of the top college coaches in the country.”

Shobeiri’s co-leader on the GLC, senior Rohini Kumaran, shares this excitement for Shobeiri.

“I know how much time and effort she puts into playing soccer and the commitment it takes to be good enough to commit to a school for a sport while still being active with clubs and school,” Kumaran said.

Kumaran believes Shobeiri has been a successful club leader because of her empathic personality.

“This position is more than just having a title—it’s about being a person in the community that helps others and can be a positive role model for others,” Kumaran said.

Shobeiri and Kumaran led the GLC throughout the pandemic, and Shobeiri feels she learned important lessons over this time period.

“I’ve learned to just go for things, because even if you don’t get the position you were hoping to get, you may be opening up doors that you weren’t really anticipating,” Shobeiri said.

Shobeiri has simultaneously found success on the soccer field and in school.

“I’m so proud to see her juggle her commitments so effectively,” West said. “She has really come into her own as a person, friend, scholar, team player and leader. She is a delightful young woman.”

Shobeiri’s ability to excel in so many different areas of her life has shown her that the possibilities are infinite, and that’s a message she hopes to share with members of the GLC.

“Being in Girls Leadership is really about showing that girls really aren’t limited in any way,” Shobeiri said. “We can do anything we set our minds to.”

OUR MAIN FOCUS IS TO EMPOWER AND INSPIRE GIRLS IN OUR COMMUNITIES, SPECIFICALLY AT MCLEAN, TO GO AFTER THEIR GOALS.”

- SUSAN SHOBEIRI JUNIOR

DONATION CELEBRATION — Susan Shobeiri holds up bags filled with feminine product donations from the Girls Leadership Committee’s feminine product drive in February. The club collected over 30,000 products.

EPIC SAVE — As goalkeeper of the Metro United soccer team, Susan Shobeiri jumps to block a goal.

CLUBS MAKE SMOOTH SWITCH TO HYBRID

Student club leaders adapt activities to stay relevant

LEXI SCOTT A&E EDITOR

When McLean closed its doors last March, clubs were stuck with the question of how they were going to continue having meetings, and most of them found ways to adjust to the virtual environment.

Nearly a year later, the school reopened under a new hybrid schedule, bringing up whether meetings should be held in person or remain virtual.

“One of the hardest challenges for the Interact Club is not being able to work on hands-on projects as a club,” said junior Cynthia Ma, co-president of the McLean Interact Club.

While teacher sponsors were essential in offering support and guidance to their club leaders, this year’s clubs were more studentdriven than ever before.

“My role is really just to facilitate. It’s more about making sure students have access to whatever they need during this time,” Interact Club sponsor Ava Kaye said. “I’ve also helped to be a sounding board for Interact’s leaders to bounce ideas off of when it comes to fundraising and planning events.”

Clubs used various platforms such as Google Meet and Blackboard Collaborate to hold their meetings. Scheduling has been a struggle since there are so many clubs and such little time in Highlander Time.

“Virtual clubs have limited time to hold meetings,” said sophomore Kelly Mance, copresident of the McLean Red Cross Club. “There have been a handful of members who have to decide which club meeting they prioritize.”

Students in the building on Silver Days for Highlander Time still attend meetings virtually.

“Many of our club members go to school virtually, but many people, like the other copresident, Stella Shen, have attended online meetings at school,” Ma said.

Club leaders have had to be creative in finding new ways to promote their clubs. Social media has been a common way for clubs to put out information about meetings, events and updates.

“We’ve been promoting Interact projects mainly on our Instagram page,” Ma said.

Instagram has been vital for many clubs and has helped McDance-A-Thon continue fundraising virtually for Children’s National Hospital.

“We do a majority of our fundraisers and meetings through social media platforms, which makes things a lot easier when we aren’t able to meet in person,” said senior Alex Lin, a McDance-A-Thon executive.

Students have used some of their extra time at home this year to start new clubs and revive old ones.

“McLean students have tried to start the Red Cross Club in the past, but it hasn’t sustained itself through the years,” Mance said. “We restarted the club this year, and although we faced some difficulties at the beginning, the past few months have been great.”

Although certain in-person events have had to be canceled due to COVID-19, virtual events have still been very successful.

“Just last month we held a Mapathon,” Mance said. “Our members helped to virtually map an undocumented village in Indonesia in order to receive lifesaving aid.”

Several clubs have hosted guest speakers to take advantage of the possibilities virtual platforms offer. The Interact Club featured Bob Jansen, the McLean Rotary Club’s youth director.

“He talked about service work and shared his own experiences,” Ma said.

Club leaders found ways to run fundraisers both in person and online.

“[McDance-A-Thon was] able to do a Valentine’s Day fundraiser in person where we sold roses to students,” Lin said.

Being willing to adapt has helped McLean’s clubs continue to succeed in spite of all the obstacles.

“Although the experience is not the same, it’s definitely possible to have a successful virtual club,” Mance said.

Club leaders plan to circle back on many of the ideas that they were unable to use this year, and they are looking forward to returning to their previous missions.

“Nothing is quite like volunteering with your friends in a safe and inclusive environment at McLean,” Kaye said.

As club members look ahead to the upcoming school year, seniors are passing off their roles and responsibilities to the next groups of leaders.

“I look forward to seeing what the new team does and what goals they’ll break,” Lin said.

STAYING ON SCHEDULE — McDance-A-Thon members and club sponsor Bridget Donoghue hold up signs to represent the $33,000 the club raised “for the kids” at the end of their hybrid fundraising event for Children’s National Hospital on May 1. Some members attended in person, while others joined in virtually over Zoom and Instagram Live to participate.

ALTHOUGH THE EXPERIENCE IS NOT THE SAME, IT’S DEFINITELY POSSIBLE TO HAVE A SUCCESSFUL VIRTUAL CLUB.”

- KELLY MANCE SOPHOMORE

Gardening Club takes root

Students plant garden near McLean football field

SEAN LEE REPORTER

McLean’s Gardening Club, founded by Mary Steinbicker and Lauren Hensley, has seen a successful inaugural year as quarantined students became more interested in gardening.

The two had the idea to start the Gardening Club while they were on the track team together.

“Prior to organizing the club, there were a good [amount] of students interested in the gardening plots,” said Antigone Stark, the club president. “That interest inspired us to start the club and give people an opportunity to work on the garden beds.”

One of the club’s missions is to contribute to both the community and the environment.

“Our goal is to connect people with a common interest in gardening and the environment,” said sophomore Tejini Holavanahali, one of the club officers. “By growing a variety of fruits, vegetables and flowers, we aim to provide both food and pollinator plants for our community.”

The club started to recruit members one by one. They ended up with three officers, 16 students and a sponsor, social studies teacher Corinne Mazzotta.

“I had one of the members of the Gardening Club in my classroom last year in AP World,” Mazzotta said. “We would discuss at the beginning of class how certain propagations were growing, so my student remembered my love of plants and asked me if I would sponsor the Gardening Club.”

After the club got into shape, it had its first official meeting at the garden near the football field bleachers on April 29 to work on preparing the garden beds for planting.

To make sure that members aren’t exposed to COVID-19, the club limits the number of people who can work on each garden bed at a time. They also require masks along with social distancing.

“Since we have four garden beds, it’s easy for us to stay at least six feet apart,” Steinbicker said. “We also heavily encourage all of our members to wash their hands before and after coming to work at the garden.”

Once the garden beds were ready, the club members started planting seeds.

“We are currently growing lettuce, carrots, tomatoes and a variety of native wildflowers,” Stark said. “By the end of the year, we hope to add cucumbers, marigolds, basil, kale and mint.”

The club is currently caring for the seeds as they wait for them to grow into healthy plants.

“Right now we are monitoring the growth of all of our plants,” Steinbicker said. “Hopefully as the summer progresses, we will see a lot more noticeable change, but right now the growth is subtle.”

The club is still looking for new members who are interested in not only gardening, but also in ways to contribute to the environment.

“The Gardening Club is for everyone,” Stark said. “We’d love to have new members.”

How to start a garden

1 Find a location

2 PREPARE YOUR SOIL

3 choose what you want to grow

CARROT TOMATO

BEET

4 plant with care

5 nurture your garden

6 harvest and repeat

Painting & planting

The Gardening Club painted signs to label the plants in their garden beds near the football field at McLean. So far, they have planted wildflowers, carrots, tomatoes and several other plants. (Photo courtesy of

Antigone Stark)