The National Honor Society (NHS), a club at Cerritos High School, volunteered at the annual LA Marathon on March 18 at Water Station 12 from 6 a.m. to 12 p.m. The NHS members dedicated their Sunday morning to provide refreshments for the marathon runners.
The race began at 7:30 a.m. but a few marathon participants reached mile 12 around one hour after the marathon had started. From 6 a.m., the volunteers cleared the streets, set up tables, and prepared water cups to pass out.
“At first I didn’t really expect too many runners to be in this marathon, but after the first two hours or so when the race started, a massive crowd of them kept showing up. It was really encouraging when the runners would thank us after we gave them their water or oranges,” said Brian Hsian, junior.
NHS is a selective club that only high school juniors and seniors are allowed to apply for. Applicants are accepted based on their academic grades, extracurricular activities, and overall well-roundedness. Once accepted the members are divided into groups and each group is expected to conduct a “Do It Yourself” (DIY) event for a particular month.
The DIY group for the month of March consisted of seniors Hannah Han, Madeline Tien, and juniors Hsiang, Andy Wang, and Irene Hwang.
“I chose this DIY event because I wanted to choose a place that was not too far, and do an event where we can actively work,” said Hsiang.
The March DIY group also wanted to support Mrs. Cindy Carlson, a Cerritos High School algebra II, AP calculus BC, and multivariable math teacher, who was also running in marathon.
Volunteering at the LA Marathon also inspired the NHS members in various ways. The act of passing out water at the marathon seemed tedious to some members at first; however, as soon as the runners thanked the volunteers as they ran past, the students felt appreciated.
“At first I thought why would people run 26.2 miles for fun; but as we were volunteering at the halfway point, I could see the sense of personal accomplishment in their eyes and the message or awareness they were promoting,” said Connie Chen, junior. “It really motivates me to one day accomplish something great, like running for hours nonstop.”
“Despite the fact that we weren’t the ones running the marathon, the act of giving water to the runners was a thrill all in itself,” said Han. “Us screaming out the names on the bibs of the runners paid off every once in awhile when the runners looked at us and smiled or yelled a ‘thank you volunteers!’ It was a great blessing to be able to serve those runners that competed with a purpose.”
