Project U is a leadership club that strives to create a positive culture and spread kindness and inclusivity in and around Karns High School. Project U is student-led but still has two staff sponsors, Brittney Carneal, and Kenzie Wilson. The club offers a variety of leadership positions from president to journalist. Currently, the vice-president position is vacant and accepting new applicants.
Graphic design, communication, and event coordination are all skills used throughout Project U. Graphic design creates different advertisements and flyers for certain events and fundraisers. Communication skills can be practiced by being involved in club meetings and conversations during events. Event planning is used a lot throughout the club as they come up with different ideas for fundraisers and activities that could impact students which includes the What’s Up Wednesday tables.
“What’s Up Wednesday is a place of joy to bring students together who wouldn’t typically connect over something fun,” Carneal said.
The What’s Up Wednesday tables happen every Wednesday during every lunch period. The tables include tons of games and coloring activities and usually a craft like making bracelets. Sometimes, the tables are used for fundraising like the tye-dying t-shirt event for Breast Cancer Awareness month. These tables bring joy to students but they also help out the Karns community.
The current President of Project U is junior Ron’tavion Mason. He has been a part of the club for two years and has gained more responsibilities by being president. Mason has to come up with new events, lead meetings, and make sure the club stays organized while fulfilling its goals. He has one major event planned for the current semester.
“Before winter break, I’m working on “Motivational Day” where seniors will speak to all the other class levels about their experiences in high school and their struggles and how to overcome them,” Mason said.
Project U members are typically held to a higher standard than other students. The club is student-led which puts some responsibility on its members to keep up with the club’s goals. One of the club’s main purposes is to make other students feel welcome and create a positive environment. If students didn’t believe in those standards, their goals wouldn’t be accomplished.
“Some of our character expectations are that members must be kind, have integrity, have respect for themselves and each other, and be open-minded,” Wilson said.
For anyone wanting to join, good news, the club is still accepting new members! Meetings are held every Monday from 3:45 to 4:30 in room 138. These meetings are used to discuss future events, fundraisers, community projects, etc. Joining is as simple as attending one of the meetings and showing interest in joining. If a student wants to create a positive community and help the school be inclusive, Project U might be a good place to start.
