![Minutes before the Activities Fair in the gym, president Abhi Gowda ‘26 prepares the stall for his club Helping Hands, Sept. 4. A relatively new club, Helping Hands was co-started by Gowda and focuses on assisting the homeless, and just last year they succeeded in raising a couple hundred donations to send to shelters. This year, they have goals to expand, with hopes to increase volunteer opportunities and take in-person trips to shelters, as well as extend their help beyond just homeless people. “The Activities Fair gives a lot of underclassmen the opportunity to really get to know the Canyon culture, and it gives them many opportunities for service and volunteering,” Gowda said. “[Through the Activities Fair,] I hope to find a bunch of new and passionate members about our club and just get our name out there and spread awareness to the cause that we’re fighting for.”](https://rockmediaonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/1-2-1200x885.jpg)
![The winter guard team makes fifth place at the state championship finals in the Denver Coliseum, March 30. The team performed to Barnes Country's “Glitter and Gold,” lead by coaches Margo Sanford, Blair Bickerton and Anna Orgren. In their class there were a total of nine groups participating, and the top five who made it to finals received a plaque. “[Walking onto the stage] is very nerve-wracking, but also very exciting as well. When you first start color guard there's a lot of anxiety and uncertainty when you first perform in front of an audience, but once you've done it for a while, it starts to become the best part of the season,” Ella West ‘25 said. “It's very fulfilling to see an audience react to something you've put your heart and soul into.”](https://rockmediaonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Both-socal-media-nd-website-main-1-1200x846.jpg)
![April marks the 25th anniversary of Sexual Assault Awareness Month, created by the National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC). This month is to spread awareness of the harassment, assault and abuse that happens around the world. The symbol that represented the month was a teal ribbon; however, some survivors of assault create different symbols and movements like the TikTok trend in 2022, where survivors would tattoo Medusa on their body, in honor of her backstory in Greek Mythology. “I don't think [this month is known] at all. I rarely see anybody talk about it. I rarely see much of an emphasis on posting it online, or much discussion about it, and I feel like there needs to be way more discussion,” an anonymous source said. “I think just validating every experience that a person has gone through, regardless of the degree of it, the severity, is an essential step into making sure that people are aware that this is a very real problem in a society and that we need to do better in addressing it.”](https://rockmediaonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/IMG_0011-1200x900.jpg)
![Lesbian Visibility Day is April 26, and it’s a holiday to celebrate the lesbian community of the world. Lesbian Visibility day was established in 2008 by many queer activists and organizations who sought to raise more awareness for lesbian history and culture. “So this is why during Lesbian Visibility [Day] we celebrate and center all lesbians, both cis and trans, while also showing solidarity with all LGBTQ+ women and nonbinary people,” Linda Reily, in an article written by her, said.](https://rockmediaonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Lesbian-Visibility-day.jpeg)
Rock Canyon’s POC Empowerment Club
An informational piece on the People of Color Empowerment club of Rock Canyon and why you should join.
December 17, 2020
The Rock Canyon POC (people of color) Empowerment Club was created this school year to give members the opportunity to voice their opinions, become more educated, and meet new people that share the same views. If you are looking to become more involved and educated on the topic of oppression and connect with others that feel the same way, consider joining the club.
Khady Sow ‘22 started the POC Empowerment Club because of “countless amounts of micro-aggressive comments that had been said to me over the years.” She then realized that other POC students were having similar experiences, and “felt like something needed to be done about it. After that, I realized that I’m sure a lot of other students at RC were having to hear these things as well, and I felt like something needed to be done about it. I also think that with BLM, other organizations fighting for all POC, and these topics regarding race being more vocalized, I thought it was the perfect time to start a POC empowerment club.”
Sow’s goal was to educate students at RC and those in her community. “It’s so easy to become ignorant especially when being in a predominantly white area, so by being able to spread awareness and education in our community, more change can be made.”
Every student at Rock Canyon has their own stories and experiences that have shaped them as a person. Each person grows up with their own struggle, and being able to recognize that is educational and empowering. Joining the POC Empowerment club can come from wanting to be more educated on the matter, or solely based on wanting to be apart of a community. Sow founded the club with help of Leanna Navo ‘22 and Lucas Oluoch ‘22.
“Growing up in the rather homogenous community of Highlands Ranch, I’ve always noticed a difference between my classmates and me. I felt it was important that I embrace the difference with my peers and help my community understand the different experiences of people of color. The recent social climate especially provoked the club, and it felt like it was time for some empowerment for POC,” Navo said.
During meetings, students discuss injustice in the community and school and share their own experiences, making it a great opportunity for students to learn more about the subject. To raise awareness, the club members and leaders make posters to put up in the hallways, slideshow presentations to show during seminar, and videos for the club members, to get their voices heard and inform others about the club. Students also discuss volunteer opportunities and other activities to promote the club outside of school.
The meetings are every other Monday (on different days for each cohort). They go from 3:00-3:30 in Mrs. Motz’s room, 8600. While Rock Canyon is engaged in remote learning, meetings will be on Zoom every other Monday. To join the POC Empowerment club text @rcpocemp to 81010.