Lucas (Haoxiang) Zhang - Silver Award

School: Catlin Gabel School
Category: Teens (11-15)
Hours: 82.5

Lucas is a 7th Grader at Catlin Gabel School who likes to interact with other children and spread an enjoyment of his favorite subject, history. Lucas also likes other activities such as skiing, tennis, reading, etc.

Lucas created a history club in 2020 when COVID-19 pandemic started to keep students isolated at home. He realized he could provide opportunities for students to interact with each other by leading discussions on interesting history topics. He would spend many hours a week and create a presentation to share with other curious peers. After receiving very positive feedback, he continued to hold these history sessions for the following summers, including the year of 2022. These meetings are generally bi-weekly and discuss a single topic over several sessions.

For the 2022 Summer Session, a four-session overview of World War I was held. This was the first year that sessions were held in person. Additional, fun history activities were held in the weeks without a presentation and students got really excited about different activities such as WWI board games, movies, and mock History Bee tournaments. Overall, the 2022 History Club was a great improvement from the last two years, from more activities to better presentations and more students joining the meetings.

Lucas enjoys history as he believes it is not only interesting and useful, but history can be applicable to many other topics which can prove useful in the future and present. He also believes anyone for almost any reason, can find a love and passion for history.

Oregon Chinese Coalition is proud to join the President of the United States in recognizing the volunteers who consistently take the time to make a difference in the lives of others. Therefore, it is a great honor to present the President’s Volunteer Service Award (PVSA) to Lucas Zhang.