The school offers a variety of clubs for students to join. But what about the clubs that make an impact on our school and community?

Caring for Cambodia

One notable club is Caring for Cambodia (CFC) which meets biweekly on Thursday mornings at 8:15 a.m. 

The mission of this club is aligned with the nonprofit organization “Caring for Cambodia” which seeks to end poverty through education, according to Ms. Rafiner, CFC’s advisor. 

Senior Hannah Kurien joined CFC because she heard “how [Cambodia had] been affected by war and how a lot of the children and a lot of the people still live in poverty.” 

Senior Clare Erdmann was introduced to CFC through her sister. 

“I really liked how involved everyone was and I just thought it was a really cool community,” she said. 

CFC is centered around a mission trip to Cambodia that takes place during the summer. The next trip is planned for the summer of 2026. 

“Libertyville students have gone to Cambodia and done service projects like buil[ding] sidewalks, build[ing] bulletin boards and painted desks and chairs that we’ve purchased,” Ms. Rafiner said. “The other part of the trip is the LHS students write lesson plans and teach English in the classroom to little kids.” 

Besides helping Cambodia, CFC also helps local communities. For example, they partner with Fill a Heart for Kids which helps orphans and foster children here in Lake County. 

CFC has also partnered with other organizations such as Feed My Starving Children and done other activities such as ugly sweater runs, bake sales and Trunk or Treats. 

“You always feel like you’re giving back to your community, which I think was really cool about this club,” Erdmann said. 

Ms. Rafiner hopes that students will have more of a global perspective after being a part of CFC.

“I really want kids to walk away from this [club] understanding that there are so many people out there in the world that need help and empathy and support,” she said. 

Erdmann loves how CFC helps her to feel connected to the school and community.

“I love seeing new people join and meeting different people through it and just being surrounded by others who also want to give back to the community,” she said. “It gets you involved outside of school and in school.” 

Student Ambassador Services

Student Ambassador Services, a service opportunity for students, focuses on helping new students or students who are considering joining the school, feel welcome at LHS. 

When welcoming new or considering students, members of the club are given a guide on what they can discuss with the students. 

Senior Dana Castellanos joined Student Ambassador Services because of her experience being new as a freshman. 

“I wanted to be a part of an impact towards new students,” she said. “As a freshman, I do remember being new and I remember how hard it was to navigate a lot of things, so I wanted to be the person that I needed freshman year.” 

Castellanos enjoys being able to meet new people by being a student ambassador. 

“I’ve gotten to learn about different backgrounds, where people come from,” she said. “I do focus on helping the students who mainly speak Spanish, because I am a Spanish-speaking student, so just learning about the different transformations in their life and their background is just great.”

One important event that Student Ambassador Services runs is the new student orientation that takes place right after the freshman orientation. Since as many as 60 new students participate, Mrs. Angelos, Student Ambassador Service’s advisor, tries to have as many student ambassadors in order to lead and personalize the tours of schedules for the new students, so they feel more comfortable as they start their time at LHS. 

“The students take them on personalized tours [to] discuss some of the important highlights, as I do as well in the large group, but on an individual level,” Mrs. Angelos said. “Then [the student ambassadors] walk them through their exact schedule periods one through eight, talking about the best routes, the best staircases, the best experiences they’ve had and reminding them of how to [navigate] LHS.” 

Before touring the new student’s schedules at the new student orientation, Mrs. Angelos makes it a priority to eat first.

“The way that people connect is by breaking bread,” Mrs. Angelos said. “And so sitting down and having a meal kind of disengages worry and creates a human connection just to relax.” While eating, Mrs. Angelos and the student ambassadors host a table activity to start conversations. 

Castellanos hopes this program will keep running. 

“It’s important for them to keep having it because it makes the kids feel safe, like they have a place,” she said. “And I’m just very glad that they chose me, and I chose to be part of this [program] as well. It’s been a great experience. I do my best every time with making new students feel comfortable and welcome.” 

Mrs. Angelos sees the value that Student Ambassador Services has.

“It’s an opportunity to feel like you make a difference in somebody’s life and that really fills a person’s soul.”

Topcats

Another service club is Topcats, a group mentoring program, that meets after school on Wednesdays from 3:30 to 6:00 p.m. There are 13 or 14 Topcats that travel by bus to the Boys and Girls Club in Waukegan at Oakdale Elementary School every week to mentor elementary-age students in three different classrooms. 

“[The Topcats are] mentoring [the students by] helping them with schoolwork, being a little bit [of a] older friend, being a good role model, being a positive influence [and] someone to listen to them,” Mrs. Glenn, a Topcats advisor who has been advising the club for 14 years, said. 

Mrs. Glenn hopes that the Topcats will appreciate that they are giving back to the community. 

“I hope that they would feel a sense of satisfaction in [giving back to the community],” she said. “They don’t get paid to do it. They don’t get any kind of credit here at school or a grade or anything like that. It’s truly a volunteer opportunity. So I would hope that they would just feel really good about what they’re doing.” 

Mrs. Glenn also hopes that the Topcats will “also learn a little bit about how to be a leader, how to take leadership roles there [and] how to assert themselves, going into a room with a supervisor and a bunch of elementary age kids.” 

Mrs. Glenn’s goal is that the students will have a global view after being a part of Topcats. 

“I think our students take away the understanding that the world is a little bit bigger than just Libertyville and that there’s a lot of people out there that really can utilize their help,” she said. 

Random Acts of Kindness

Random Acts of Kindness (RAK), a fourth service club that is part of a global organization called “Random Acts of Kindness,” meets every other Tuesday from 3:30 to 4:00 p.m. 

“We promote kindness, not only throughout the school, but then also in the community, doing kindness acts for students, [and] staff in the community,” Mrs. Kelly, one of the advisors for RAK, said. 

Senior Ava Vestal joined RAK because her freshman literature teacher, Mrs. Singleton, another RAK advisor, promoted the club to her students. 

“I just thought that it sounded like a really fun opportunity to help create a more positive environment at Libertyville,” she said. Vestal has been a part of RAK since her freshman year and has been a leader for two years. 

RAK has filled the school with kind and inspirational messages and quotes through sidewalk chalk, locker notes, staff birthday cards, hot chocolate cup messages and this year’s Dunkin gift cards. 

Anyone is welcome to join – even for just a few meetings each year. 

“It’s a nice place to relax…[and] it’s a super fun place to be,” Vestal said. 

Interact

A final service club is Interact which meets on Mondays from 3:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. 

“The focus of Interact is service to the community, either local or global,” Mrs. Uliks, an advisor for Interact, said. 

Senior Ava Palmieri joined Interact at the end of her freshman year. She became a leader during her senior year. 

“I just wanted to get more involved in my community,” she said. “I love community service.” 

Along with the club, Interact also has a parent organization. 

“They provide us with financial support and opportunities,” Palmieri said. “It’s just a really great way to get involved with volunteering because it can be hard sometimes in your community and it’s a great, accessible way to do that.” 

Along with the club and parent organization, Interact also partners with Sunrise Rotary, a community service organization for adults that is similar to Interact. 

Interact provides several volunteer opportunities including the Alzheimer’s Walk, gifts for the Wish Drive, meals for the Haven, collection for the PADS shelter, writing letters to senior citizens, the LHS canned food drive and The Rotary Youth Leadership Awards.

“My favorite was probably RYLA, the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards, because it was just a great way to make friends with other like minded people as you and you really learn from other strong adult leaders how to be a good youth leader,” Palmieri said. 

Interact is a club that can even work for students with busy schedules. 

“Even if you can’t be a part of our meetings, you can always participate at our volunteer events,” Mrs. Uliks said.