While Mount Carmel is known for many things, such as success in academics and athletics, its diversity is something that students, teachers, and alumni take pride in.
During the third trimester of last school year, faculty members Mrs. Emma Norise, Mr. John O’Connor, and Mr. Dan O’Connor began to talk about potentially creating a space or club that focused on diversity, inclusivity, and the Mount Carmel brotherhood.
Over the summer, Mrs. Norise was looking for their help in taking the first steps to start this new club and contacted multiple upperclassmen. Her goal was to start by having at least two students of each ethnicity, and then see what the students wanted to discuss at weekly meetings.
In one of the first meetings, current senior and vice president of T.H.E. Club, Ryan Gilhooly, came up with the name, T.H.E., which stands for “together helping each other.”
“As soon as Gilhooly came up with the name everyone was on board,” said senior and president of the club Ryan Nichols. “It fit perfectly because it encompassed the ideas of diversity and supporting one another within the student body.”
After reaching out to more students, T.H.E. Club was ready to find inspiration and support from the Mount Carmel community, specifically the alumni that currently work at the school.
Nichols, Gilhooly, and Mrs. Norise worked to find guest speakers that could talk for half an hour on Tuesdays before school.
“We wanted people that had graduated from MC and could speak on what it was like when they walked the halls of this great school,” said Mrs. Norise. “The young men in T.H.E. Club came up with a list of who they might want to talk to, as well as a list of questions to ask them.”
Mr. Daniel Burke, Coach Jordan Lynch, Mr. Mark Antonietti, and Mr. Manuel Medina all came in and talked about their experiences of being a student at MC. During the meetings, one particular question stood out amongst the rest.
“The young men liked to ask what the speakers would’ve done differently in high school if they had a chance to change something,” said Mrs. Norise. “That grabbed my attention because it showed how members of the group are looking towards their future. Being able to talk with these alumni is very beneficial in my opinion.”
Talking to somebody who graduated from MC is something any student can do during class or practice due to the large number of alums who have come back to teach and coach at MC; however, having a set period of time proved to be good for members of T.H.E. Club.
“Having guest speakers was a great idea and plan from the start,” said Nichols. “I was surprised by how much I was able to relate to the alumni who talked. The insight they gave us has helped me a lot, especially because I’m a senior right now.”
Not only did having guest speakers impact the students who are a part of T.H.E. Club, but it also impacted the speakers themselves.
“There wasn’t anything like T.H.E. Club when I was a student at MC,” said Mr. Medina. “When I was a speaker at one of the meetings in the first trimester I felt nostalgic seeing these guys being upperclassmen in high school. I think it’s great to see MC have more clubs and activities like this.”
T.H.E. Club is currently focused on contacting more guest speakers, finding new members, and reaching out to the underclassmen. In fact, Nichols and Gilhooly are currently working on a project that will see members of T.H.E. Club reach out to underclassmen in their Studiums.
“I’m looking forward to connecting more with underclassmen as well as some upperclassmen that I think will be a good fit for T.H.E. Club,” said Nichols.
