On Tuesday June 5th, The Empowered Club held their last meeting, celebrating their year-long accomplishments as well as discussing plans for the next school year.

Signs were plastered around campus inviting everyone to come to the final meeting with the incentive of donuts always being offered, but this time in addition to pancakes and waffles.

The focus is to discuss racial issues as well as the successes of minority groups. The club also puts on a school wide assembly every year in the month of February celebrating black history month. Meetings take place every Tuesday, and anyone can stop in before class for a donut and different conversation topics each week. Junior Dora Stephen states, “I go because I love what they talk about, and when we are there, they push us to do things we think we can’t do but they know we actually can.”  Meetings are lead by English teacher Amanda Thorpe and longtime PNHS fixture Dr. James Houston, yet students dominate the conversations.

The intention of the club is to guide students of color and their advocates through certain life challenges they might face, as well as to give them a chance to share and express their opinions on things and to even offer academic help. Junior TyRell Young states, “I went because it made me see I have so many other options to look forward to and to also see that you can succeed in other ways than just the streets.”

Alumni Alecia Freeman states, “Well with being in a mostly white school, it felt good to get the few black people we had all together to talk and express how we felt about things going on in and out of school. This got me through the week, looking forward to Tuesday mornings.” There is a wide variety of different students in different grades, so someone in the club is always there to help, whether members have an emotional need or could just use some help with algebra. The club will begin meeting again starting in the fall and is welcoming new members.