Cherry Hill East is renowned for its diverse range of clubs, offering students over 100 options to explore their interests, from business and medicine to art, theater, ethics, fashion, and more. Over the summer, three newer clubs at East have been preparing to start the school year with a strong presence. Eastside interviewed these clubs to learn about their plans for the upcoming year and the new opportunities they will offer students.

HOSA

After the Cherry Hill East Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) chapter was discontinued in 2023, two students are stepping up to revive HOSA in the East community. HOSA is an international organization that allows students to explore various aspects of healthcare through competitions and collaborations with other health-focused individuals. Each school can create its own HOSA chapter, enabling students to compete in over 30 different medical fields at regional, state, and national levels. HOSA also offers awards, opportunities, prize money, and leadership and community service recognition to competitors.

Chapter co-presidents Allison Kang (’26) and Collin Lu (’27) are leading the effort to restart East’s HOSA chapter, recognizing it as a unique opportunity to engage with the medical field.

Kang participated in HOSA during her freshman year before the chapter was discontinued at East. She recalls her experience competing in a dental terminology event as pivotal in sparking her interest in the medical field, particularly in dentistry.

“I saw people wearing scrubs and formal attire to compete, and it really felt like I was in a healthcare environment. That inspired me to continue and deepened my interest in competing,” said Kang.

While Lu wasn’t at East when the HOSA chapter was active, he was always interested in joining after hearing about the experiences of upperclassmen.

“My friends from different high schools with HOSA chapters would send me videos and photos, and it seemed really fun—something that East students would really enjoy. There’s a huge potential for participation here, given the number of students interested in healthcare,” said Lu.

However, Kang and Lu want to expand the HOSA chapter beyond just competitions.

“HOSA’s main focus is the competitions, but we also want to host additional activities so that anyone interested in healthcare can participate without having to compete,” Kang explained. This approach offers students multiple opportunities to develop their interest in the medical field before jumping into competitions.

The club plans to host events such as guest speaker sessions and healthcare lab experiments, but Kang and Lu’s primary goal is to build a strong foundation for future years.

“I remember during my freshman year, the club was really small, and only a handful of students participated. Not many East students advanced to the next competition level,” said Kang.

“We’re working to build a strong foundation so that in the future, we can have a stronger club and send more students to states and nationals,” added Lu. Both presidents are currently focused on establishing their board and fundraising to cover competition fees and future events.

Autism Acceptance

Cherry Hill East’s Autism Acceptance Club has been active since January 2024, focusing on fostering autism acceptance and awareness through interactive educational activities and raising funds for autism-related causes.

“The club is open to everyone—neurodivergent and neurotypical alike. Our leadership board is a combination of individuals with and without autism, promoting authenticity,” said Rivi Jay (’26), one of the co-presidents.

Although the club began midway through the 2023-2024 school year, it was busy hosting events for the remainder of the year. These included interactive discussions on topics relevant to the autism community, such as sensory triggers, social skill challenges, and special interests. The club also organized a “Raise The Bar” live webinar with the Biological Research Apparatus Club (BRAC), sensory bottle-making activities, and a sensory room at East’s Wellness Day. Fundraisers were held to support the Eagles Autism Foundation and the Luv Michael Foundation, promoting autism acceptance and employment.

“Our biggest goal for the upcoming school year is to continue strengthening autism acceptance at East through various forms of autism education,” said Jay.

“As someone with Asperger’s, it can be hard to find people and places that make me feel comfortable. I wanted to build a safe and supportive community for autistic people like me, both inside and outside of East. Over time, I’ve realized that unless someone has a personal connection to autism, they likely won’t know much about what it means to be on the spectrum. While one autistic person doesn’t represent the whole spectrum, and each person has their strengths and weaknesses, it’s crucial to understand autism as a whole to make everyone on the spectrum feel accepted without judgment,” Jay added.

While the club had a successful first year, the board has been preparing over the summer to continue hosting events in the upcoming year, including more interactive discussions and sensory activities.

Road to Med

This medical club is dedicated to providing students with opportunities to explore the medical field, aiming to bridge the gap between high school, university, and medical school. Founded by Muskaan Batra (’26) and Ravza Yilmaz (’26), the club began holding meetings in February 2024. Among the various medical clubs at East, Road to Med is a welcoming, no-commitment club for students interested in trying something new.

“Road to Med is unique because we focus on providing opportunities not only to those who know they are interested in medicine but also to those who might not be and want to learn or try something new,” said Batra.

The club highlights local opportunities and hosts interactive events at the school. Last year, activities included a talk by an intensivist about his experience in emergency healthcare, medical jeopardy, and discussions with current East students about their experiences volunteering with EMTs. Next year, the club aims to host even more activities, including a first aid kit project to donate to local hospitals. Batra and Yilmaz also hope to organize a medical volunteer event at a hospital to provide more hands-on medical exposure.

“There are so many local opportunities in Cherry Hill and neighboring towns, and we’re trying to make high schoolers aware of them,” Batra added.

Both Batra and Yilmaz were inspired to start this club together, having grown up with family members in the medical field, which gave them early exposure that not all students have. They both aspire to pursue careers in the medical field and hope to provide valuable opportunities for all high schoolers interested in medicine.

The primary goal for Road to Med this year is to expand membership and hold more meetings, reaching more East students who could benefit from exposure to the medical field through the club.