As the year draws to a close, the ACC community prepares to say goodbye to our seniors. Here we take some time to highlight the founding members of the Book Club, who are leaving us this year. Started during the pandemic, the club quickly became a way for its members to connect with their teachers and each other.

Sara Escada (they/them)

Sara’s favorite part of the club is getting to know different people, especially in the younger grades, since they don’t see them elsewhere. They also like reading different genres, saying that it helped them at work. When asked what part they’ll miss the most, they answer immediately “the people.” They’re also sad about leaving the behind-the-scenes picking and researching of books.

Next year, they’re most excited for their classes. They’re a forensic science major with a focus on biology and a minor in anthropology. They’re also excited about continuing work, since they’ll be a senior bookseller at Barnes and Noble. Sara is most proud of their schoolwork this past year, keeping up good grades, getting a scholarship, and completing an FBI STEM program (complete with a stole with the FBI seal!). In the future, they’re interested in going to med school, possibly working as a medical examiner, and making their mom proud.

Ariel Dooley (they/them)

Ariel shares a similar sentiment with their fellow club members, enjoying the discussion and connection that reading a book together brings them. They liked getting to know their friends and teacher better, especially over the pandemic. They’ll miss the close connection the club offers most, saying “I might join a book club in college, but I feel like it will be a lot less connected, since there will be more people.”

They’re excited about many things in the upcoming year, from meeting new people, taking fun classes, to living away from home. This past year, Ariel is most proud of earning their Associates Degree. In the future, Ariel hopes to be doing some work to help people, possibly an emergency manager.

Maya Sherlick (she/her)

The original student member of the club and the president, Maya has been an integral part of the club all three years. Her favorite part is the conversations they have, the fun tangents and different opinions she gets to see when they talk about a book. She’ll miss the history of the club, the long process it took to bring the club to where it is. “The club grew up with us,” she says.

Maya is heading to a college with 13 official book clubs, and she’s very excited about that. In addition, she’s looking forward to continuing working at Tiny Fox Press. This past year, she’s proud of the balance she’s managed to maintain, running two clubs, doing her capstone, keeping up her schoolwork, and working a job. She hopes to end up in the publishing field in the future, although she likens the difficulty of getting into the field as similar to getting into Hollywood. Maya hopes to work in either the teen or romance genres. She concludes with a smile, “It’s been fun, a fun 3 years.”

     We hope to see these seniors grow and flourish in the coming years. Hopefully they’ll stop by to visit and see how the club is doing! If you’re interested, the Book Club meets about once a month during Archer’s, and is a great opportunity to read new books, make new friends, and have a lot of fun.