By Harrison Zhang
Hawaiian music on the ukulele and jazz music on the saxophone complements the laughing and bustling of the Irvine community visiting the various Math for Service (MFS) booths; the annual MFS Open House is back.
Over 75 student and parent volunteers were on site at Sage Hill High School’s courtyard on May 13.
“The best part of bringing everyone together is that it just shows you that we’re one overarching organization: Math for service,” Master of Ceremonies and University High School junior Neah Lekan said. “It’s good to see everybody cooperating towards a common goal. We see everyone coming together, synchronizing and fulfilling the mission statement, all in one.”
Students eagerly gathered at the different organization booths to sign up to be Math for Service volunteers. There was a total of eight organizations represented: OC Math Circle, OC Scholar, OC Coder, OC Science, OC Arts, All Girls Math Tournament, OC Engineer, OC Launch, and OC Hacker.
“My favorite part is when you talk to the kids and make real connections. Just getting to know them, is really rewarding,” Orange County Math Circle Co-President and University High School junior Michael Wu said. “Our goal today is to inspire the new generation to get into Math for Service.”
In addition to student volunteers, a group known as Friends of Math for Service consisting of parents of student volunteers were present at the event handling bake sale duties and the book drive.
“It’s fun and exciting [to volunteer] because I see all these kids working so hard, so I just want to do whatever I can to support them,” four-year parent volunteer Betty Yee said. “For some reason, I always get thrown into volunteering for the bake sale, but I enjoy helping whenever and wherever I can.”
MFS’ Open House also featured an indoor presentation of each organization, led by the Presidents, and a President’s Volunteer Service Award (PVSA) ceremony for MFS volunteers in the past year. Fifty-four students were eligible for various awards ranging from gold to bronze; 23 bronze, six silver, and 25 gold.
To learn more about Math for Service events and volunteering opportunities, visit mathforservice.org.