Three years after its addition to the foreign language program, Chinese finally meets the requirements to establish a chapter of the Chinese Honors Society. Chinese teacher Zhenzhen Zhang promptly started the process by working with the Chinese III class to elect members and develop club articles. 

“It’s a bit complicated, and, at times, a tedious process,” junior and president Rylee Oakman said. “There are a few online materials that I have found immensely helpful, but it is definitely a new experience.”

Society leadership predicts that one of the biggest hurdles will be finding classroom space for meetings and events during Zhang’s upcoming maternity leave. If the club is able to manage without its sponsor, it could be fully active by January. 

“We will have to speak with the substitute geometry teacher to see if they will allow us to use their classroom,” Oakman said, “but the club will be very independent until our sponsor returns.

Zhang plans to integrate the club with other Chinese organizations within the community in order to host activities, celebration, and volunteer opportunities for its members. 

“If there is a festival, we’ll definitely be doing festival-related activities,” Zhang said, “so during the Dragon Boat Festival, Mid Autumn Festival, and Qixi Festival, we will host activities related to those holidays.”

Zhang has pioneered the language course since her second year teaching at Hagerty. Recalling the uncertainty of developing a curriculum for Chinese I on her own reminds her of how much Chinese has grown. 

“Right now we are in the middle of writing our constitution,” Zhang said. “But we will soon be planning our activities and hopefully partnering with other language honors societies.”