The Lakewood High School History Club is a place for all students and staff to come together and learn about a specific topic within history. The historical periods range from civilizations thousands of years ago to events within the past one hundred years. The club is a welcoming place where anyone can join and give a presentation on any history they are passionate about.
The club began in 2016 when sophomore Alex Manaa approached the history and psychology teacher Chuck Greanoff with an idea.
“Alex approached me about starting something where students can do research and make presentations on topics that we don’t go into great depth in regular classes,” Greanoff said. “I thought it was a really good idea, and I proposed it to the school board. A handful of kids joined, and they started making presentations, and it went from there.”
Since then, the club has only grown. The History Club is popular among LHS students, with 38 members, two co-presidents, Eva Wischhusen and Benjamin Daniels, and additional stray attendees. It has become a place for students with a love of history to connect.
“I think that every year we seem to have slightly more students involved in history club, more students giving presentations,” Greanoff said.
On Nov. 17, History Club co-president Eva Wischhusen gave a presentation on America’s national parks at the Lakewood Public Library. During the hour-long presentation, Wischhusen went into detail about how the National Park program came to be and examined the negative and positive effects of the parks on our country.
“I feel like we all know that the national parks are extremely important and that they have a deep connection to America, but most people don’t know the true history,” said Wischhusen.
Her passion for both history and nature made her presentation even more fruitful. Wischhusen made the intention of her presentation very clear: spreading awareness.
“The most important takeaway is that sometimes the best thing to ever happen to somebody could be devastating for another, and not everything is so cut and dry,” Wischhusen said. “With the national parks, America wouldn’t be half the country it is today. However, the national parks ruined the livelihood of many people, especially the land’s true owners, Native Americans.”
Many students and Lakewood civilians attended the national parks presentation, which allowed Wischhusen to share her message with a broad audience.
“My favorite part about presenting is getting to talk about something I deeply care about with other people.”
Wischhusen and Daniels have been part of the history club since their freshman year. Dr. G decided to make them co-presidents for the 2024-25 school year.
“They always come to the meetings,” Greanoff said. “They encourage other students to join. They’re just very, very interested in history. They’re kids that sit in the front row in class, and they’re just engaged learners. They show up all the time, they have ideas. They made presentations earlier. It was really clear that they should be the presidents this year.”
Sophomore Emma Gjergji gave the club’s most recent presentation on Nov. 21. Gjergji created a presentation on the history and culture of Albania.
“I believe that the history of Albania and the experiences of Albanians are not often talked about and that non-Albanians also deserve to learn about the culture,” Gjergji said.
When giving the presentation, Emma was accompanied by her father.
“Since I have been gifted with having someone in my family to be extremely knowledgeable in Albanian history as my father is, I thought it only natural to tackle this presentation alongside him,” Gjergji said. Her aunt and mother also attended the presentation, treating the audience to traditional Albanian food.
Emma’s presentation was attended by students, staff, family members, and school board members. The number of people in the room created nerves, but the established kind atmosphere boosted Gjergji’s confidence.
“As the presentation continued, I felt comforted in how I was being received by the audience,” Gjergji said, “As I stood up there giving my presentation, I could feel the interest of the audience as well as the caring demeanor given off by the room.”
All history club presentations come from a place of passion. Students are drawn to the club to watch engaging presentations on subjects their peers are enthusiastic about. The club encourages students to learn on their own accord.
“I think students learn well from other students, and they can pick up on the fact that if a student has created a presentation, it’s something they really care about,” Greanoff said. “It ultimately facilitates intrinsic motivation to learn.”
