SODA:
At the beginning of this school year, the SHS chapter of the Student Organ Donation Advocates organization (SODA) was established. The club meets on Mondays in room C230 and is advised by science teacher Traci Murphy.
Hannah Pagels, freshman and founder of SODA, hopes to raise awareness about organ donation and encourage students to take action. She explains that being part of a larger nonprofit organization, SODA National, enables the club to fund education and registration events.
“We’ll teach you about what organ donation is and why it’s important, and then provide opportunities for you to register to be an organ donor,” Pagels said.
Since its inception at SHS, SODA has hosted such events for members and the broader student population, especially in collaboration with the national organization. These activities have included collaboration with Wisconsin’s Organ Procurement Organization (OPO) Versiti.
“Basically, what [Versiti does] is they look at the donor registry and they figure out if someone is eligible to be an organ donor [and if they’re] registered,” Pagels said. “They take [the information], then they’re going to match it to a donor. We [also] had our cookie event where people answered multiple choice questions to get a free cookie, so that was fun.”
Pagels details plans for the future of SODA.
“The funding does not go to personal trips or anything, but I will say that I’m excited about some of the events we’re going to do,” Pagels said. “April is Organ Donation Month. There’s this thing [called] Donate Life, which is just a big organization that supports organ donation, and they do something called Blue and Green spirit week, so we’re going to do something kind of alongside that.”
Overall, Pagels hopes to inform the public that organ donation is an act of care.
“[Organ donation is] just really powerful too, because it can turn a time of loss and grief into a time of hope, not because that loss gets diminished, but because you are now seeing the gift of life being passed on, and you’re seeing how profound and amazing the organ donation community is,” Pagels said.
Art Club:
Art Club, advised by art teacher Jessica Mohagen, meets Tuesdays at lunch in room C136. Organized by juniors and co-presidents Avery Schmidt and Sofia Haftarski, the club ended 2024 with an adventure: spending Friday, December 20, at the Milwaukee Art Museum.
“It seemed right to go on a field trip to the Art Museum since we’re Art Club,” Schmidt said. “[The field trip] was really fun.”
After leaving in the morning, the club spent a majority of their day at the museum before having lunch at the Milwaukee Public Market. While visiting the museum, a particular exhibit stood out: Robert Longo: The Acceleration of History, featuring large-scale, realistic charcoal drawings, many of which center on global conflicts and activism.
“I was really excited for [The Acceleration of History],” Haftarski said. “It was one of those exhibits where you walk out and think, ‘I could never do art again’.”
Apart from its field trip, the club engages in a variety of activities throughout the year, including Sticker Sales. Haftarski explains such events wouldn’t be possible without dedicated involvement from group members.
“We have a really chill group this year,” Haftarski said. “They’re very responsive, consistent, and productive.”
The club is also planning a mural for the science building, which is to be the second project of its kind. Last year, in collaboration with Youth Rising Up, the club painted a mural by Mohagen’s room. However, Haftarski explains, this year’s mural will be unlike their previous one.
“Since it’s [outside] a biology classroom, we wanted to make it nature-themed,” Haftarski said, “This mural would [feature] native flora and plants to Wisconsin.”
Looking ahead, the club hopes to host other collaborative activities.
“We’ve also talked about doing a quilt project,” Schimdt said. “Each member could embroider a square and then we could combine it to make a blanket.”