Senior Karan Sharma, co-president of Octagon, has been a member of the club since his freshman year. Throughout that time, he has improved in his academic skills and learned more about both himself and the organization.
“It was honestly the greatest experience ever,” Sharma said. “I remember going to Great America [after the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF)] and just having one of the best days of my life.”
Octagon helped Sharma academically and socially. He had responsibilities, which had to be balanced with school work. As a co-president, he had to learn coding in order to improve the website in two days. Thus, he has had to juggle his curricular activities with his duties as a co-president.
“I remember after volunteering, I [made] so many new friends,” Sharma said. “I started making connections, I felt good while I did it. A lot of my fun memories have been through Octagon.”
The amount of work from being officer has varied for Sharma. Yet, as time progresses, Octagon’s members have the opportunity to grow closer to one another through the events, such as Breakfast with Friends, Cure Cancer Cafe as well as through the meetings.
“[Being an officer is] definitely a decent amount of work,” Sharma said. “It’s not unbearable, but it’s definitely helped with my communication skills, my confidence, being able to time-manage pretty well.”
Octagon changed from a club to a family for Sharma. He remains in contact with friends he has made in this club. Octagon has its plans for improvements for events, which Sharma wishes to address. The major events, like Pie Toss and Cure Cancer Cafe, had their setbacks which detracted from the overall experience. In Pie Toss, there were not enough teachers who signed up. In Cure Cancer Cafe, minor issues arose, such as stained tablecloths, which had to be addressed. Sharma believes that his participation in the club transformed the experience from a chore to something like a family. It changed from a volunteering organization to a closely-knit group of friends.
“I recommend everyone try find a club like [a family],” Sharma said. “Or not even a club, maybe a class, or a group of friends, where they feel like they belong.”
