Middle school students starting young Soroptimist club

By Kathryn Reed

Toss out whatever impression you have of a Soroptimist because a group in South Lake Tahoe is redefining what a member looks like.

She’s a whole lot younger than the average member. She doesn’t have a college degree. She isn’t a manager of any firm or some executive in a business suit and heals.

This group is in eighth grade at South Tahoe Middle School. They have good grades. And by the looks of things, are the future leaders of whatever town they live in as adults.

For now, though, under the guidance of advisor Karin Holmes the girls are partnering with Soroptimist International Tahoe Sierra to form what is loosely being called a Junior S Club.

At a meeting this week, Jamie Kennedy, Trinity LaTella, Emily Aminian, Brandy Kent, Alexandria Bocholz, Teresa Tenocelott and Zaira Monette heard a bit about what their sponsor group is all about. One day this school year they’ll go to one the adult’s 7:30am Thursday meetings.

For now, they are concentrating on things more relevant and of interest to them. They helped with last week’s Pumpkin Run at the school, are partnering with sixth-graders to have a tree at the Barton Foundation’s Festival of Tree and Lights in December, and plan to have tutoring be a yearlong project.

A couple students voiced concern of drugs being used at lower grades and wanting to do something to show the dangers of that and ways to avoid it.

At the high school level is the S Club and colleges have Soroptimist Sigma Society. Though the STMS club is not officially chartered by the international organization, it is the youngest group in the country. This is being called an experiment.