Teen Way, a new club at school, works with the Milpitas Teen Center to plan events for the community, junior and club president Crystal Huang said.
Huang is a part of the Youth Advisory Commission, a city commission that also plans events in collaboration with the Teen Center, but due to only meeting once a month, it was difficult to plan anything, Huang said. So she felt that creating this club would enable her to have a greater impact, she said.
“Our club is about preparing events for middle school and high schoolers, and sometimes elementary schoolers, and we work with the teen center to accomplish this goal,” Huang said.
Teen Way has previously hosted a table tennis tournament and a mental health fair event at the Teen Center with the help of staff, Huang said. Currently, Teen Way is planning a STEM camp, she said.
“We originally had a cooking camp, but due to some complications with teaching and everything, we’re deciding to switch it to a STEM camp,” Huang said. “Currently, the idea is to have it during February break or spring break.”
Teen Way’s treasurer and junior Melody Lee believes that the events were well-received, she said. These events are meant to expand people’s interests and have them explore what Teen Way has to offer, Lee said.
“It’s also inspiring in a way because you get to see how the kids get inspired at these activities,” Lee said. “And it’s just super fun to help organize as well.”
Huang hopes that Teen Way members will get experience leading and organizing events through the club, she said.
“I hope that they will learn more on how exactly to plan events, how to have a few leadership skills in case they are in charge of planning events, and how to have better public speaking skills,” Huang said.
Teen Way members are directly involved in planning events, Lee said. They plan the events together, and on the day of the event, each member gets a specific role, Lee said. Teen Center staff members are also there to offer help, she added.
“The Teen Center provides us some of the funding and the entire facility for us to use for events,” Lee said. “We’re just the ones that are telling the kids what to do.”
Program coordinator Vince Collantes, who works with the Teen Center and Teen Way to plan events, believes that having a teen’s perspective helps the Teen Center plan the best events, he said. Events hosted in collaboration with Teen Way also bring more teens to the center, Collantes added.
“Every time we have someone or a family come to the teen center because of a tournament or event that Teen Way put on, a lot of them do return, and they come back,” Collantes said “If they’re a little bit younger, they may come back for our tween days, but if they are a teen, usually they do create a free membership on the spot, and then we do see them come back every so often, especially during the summer when school is out.”
The Teen Center is open to collaborating with as many different organizations as possible to educate and support teens, Collantes said. With Teen Way, Collantes hopes that members learn how to have an impact in their community and create events for people of all ages, he said.
“Maybe it’ll interest them into joining the recreation field – studying that in college,” Collantes said. “It’s a great way to give back to the community and to provide fresh and new experiences, to have fun together as a community, and I hope they are also getting that experience as they
are part of the Teen Way and help out with the Teen Center.”
Lee recommends that others join Teen Way to help organize events, she said. Teen Way is always open to new ideas, she added.
“So if you have an event that you’re interested in going to, or you want to see, we’re always open to that, and feel free to input anything,” Lee said. “So yeah, you too can host a cool event.”