Lake Forest is home to a strong Greek community. We have a Greek Orthodox Church just down the road. So, it is only right that LFHS has a club to share this Greek culture and traditions with the rest of the community.
Hellenic Club, more commonly referred to as Greek Club, was founded last year. When LFHS English teacher, Melissa Halkias, was approached with the idea for Hellenic Club last fall, she was ecstatic about the opportunity.
“I think [Hellenic Club] is a really cool opportunity for all kinds of students to meet and talk to each other and learn about their culture and their heritage,” said Halkias.
Hellenic Club is now an official extracurricular program offered by LFHS, after being a pilot club last year. What really sets the club apart from other clubs is the variety of people who attend it.
“My favorite part about Greek club is the mix of people in it and how everyone is brought together,” said senior and member of the club Yianni Koliatsis.
Despite the name “Greek Club,” you are not required to be Greek in order to join. In fact, according to Halkias, the best part about Hellenic Club is that not everyone is Greek.
“What’s really cool is that we have students who are not Greek and don’t know anything about Greek language or culture. Anybody can come to Greek club. We really encourage that and we love to see that,” said Halkias.
This blend of Greeks and non-Greeks helps to create a sense of community and celebration of Greek culture which serves as a draw for both people who know a lot about Greek culture and people who don’t. Passionate Greeks can see how their families may celebrate or carry out certain traditions and learn from one another. On the other hand, people who aren’t Greek still love to come because they are enthusiastic about learning about new places and people.
“I think it’s an extra treat to watch the students who happen to be Greek take pride in their culture and their background and share it with other people who may know nothing about it,” said Halkias.
Sharing traditions and learning about Greek culture was junior Noel Demetrio’s main inspiration for starting the club last fall. Demetrio, who has visited Greece many times and was even homeschooled there for a short period of time, is very proud of her heritage and loves her culture.
“My grandparents taught me to speak Greek and about how much they loved their faith, language, history, and homeland. I felt it was my moral obligation to preserve their rich and beautiful history and traditions. I wanted to share the beauty of this rich culture with everyone at LFHS,” said Demetrio.
Hellenic Club offers several of these Greek activities and traditions at its monthly meetings such as Greek dancing, Orthodox Easter customs, celebrating name days, and learning about Greek Independence Day.
“We look for more hands-on activities where we can get people up and moving around, especially since it is the end of the school day, we want something more lively,” said Halkias.
These activities proved to be extremely popular and helped to foster the sharing of culture that is such an important part of Hellenic Club.
“My favorite event last year would have to be our Greek dancing day. Everyone was taught how to dance and the ones who knew helped out the ones who didn’t. It was an overall fun event,” said Koliatsis.
Hellenic Club meets on the first Wednesday of every month. Their next meeting is Oct. 4th.
“I’m looking forward to more fun events hosted by the group and maybe even some field trips as a club,” said Koliatsis.
Demetrio has ambitious plans for the club and is even looking into adding a philanthropic aspect to it.
“I want the club to start being of service to those struggling in Greece. Perhaps sponsoring trees to help rebuild the damage that the fires have caused in Greece,” said Demetrio. “My favorite part of what it means to be Greek is to give back endlessly. Except more of that!”
This article was updated Friday afternoon to correct an error about Mrs. Halkias’ heritage. She is, in fact, Greek. The Forest Scout regrets the error.
