Diversify Our Narrative, or DON is a massive student-run nonprofit that fights for racial justice throughout our local school systems. The Placentia Yorba Linda chapter has clubs at Valencia, Esperanza, Troy, and lucky for you, Yorba Linda High School. If you’re an underclassman who’s looking for an extracurricular, a chance to connect with people, or a way to get more involved on campus, DON is the way to go (I can speak from personal experience). And if you want to take it a step further, you can join the district (they meet once a week for about an hour and a half) 

*If I were you, I would join the district immediately. Most of the reasons I listed below are because the district is so amazing. 

1. Good for Growth/College Apps: DON has a hierarchical structure, which means there is a diverse array of jobs, and each job holds a certain amount of power. What this also means is a chance for you to 1. yes, find what you could be good at, but 2. also show growth. Growth is a word college admissions drool over. The ability to show and experience growth throughout your high school career is typically the distinguishing factor between two kids who both have 4.2 GPAs, come from the same background, and either do orchestra, band, theater, art, or a sport. Think about it like this, if Tim applies to UC Berkley with a 4.2 GPA, a love for robotics, and the ability to crochet, but Sarah applies to the same institution with the same GPA and similar extracurriculars BUT shows growth in her extracurricular (for example she was a supporting character her freshman and sophomore year but got the lead her junior year because she worked her butt off, or, she was bad at OCAD but studied hard and was able to become a team lead), Tim is gonna get rejected and Sarah will get it. DON provides opportunity after opportunity to level up. You might be a participant in the literary team one year and then become the literary team lead the next. That’s GROWTH. And since it’s student-run, there is little to no pressure to pursue anything and it’s a very welcoming space. 

2. Volunteer Hours: DON will give you volunteer hours for completing various tasks and volunteering to do work outside of meetings. It is a super easy way to get them in without having to ask your parents to drive you around because club meetings are obviously at lunchtime (district meetings are online and happen on the weekend). And if you do end up in a leadership position, you’ll have more work to do outside of meetings, which can also earn you volunteer hours (without leaving the house). Thiry hours aren’t a lot but you should get it done early on so that once senior year rolls around you’re eligible for all the fun things that come with being a senior, like lunch pass and graduating. 

3. Connections: A lot of people don’t realize this until later, but connections are one of the most important contributing factors to your success. It’s what can give you a leg up in a job interview or college admissions, or set you up with that cool internship you wouldn’t have otherwise known about.

I did a student-run internship last year with Cal State Fullerton students and it was an incredible experience. Want to know how I found out about it? DON. Members are constantly sending and bringing up amazing, underground opportunities like the one I mentioned. And if you simply say that you’re affiliated with DON, you’re way more likely to be considered since DON is constantly corresponding with nonprofits around the globe, and there’s a high chance we’ve worked with them before. 

4. Friends: The first time I went to an in-person DON Social and finally got a chance to put a face to the names online, it was so nice. Everyone was incredibly kind and I found that my values were aligned with mainly everyone at the social. Conversations with everyone flowed, and I found a group of people who were warm, and welcoming, and gave me the confidence to speak freely. Honestly, if you don’t have much of a desire to level up in the organization or be super dedicated to the cause, I would still join solely because the people are amazing. 

5. Community Change: Over the years, DON has made a tremendous impact on our community. Whether it be through creating a free little library in boba shops or protesting critical race theory, DON is a passionate organization that cares about promoting racial justice and diversifying our school curriculum. 

Join DON today by texting Abigail Lee at ‭+1 (714) 457-8610‬!

 (Just to be clear, the club at YLHS is different from the chapter. The club consists of weekly/biweekly meetings with less opportunity to earn volunteer hours and go to events, while the district meets every other week for about an hour online, and presents many opportunities to show leadership, earn hours, and attend events (it’s better for networking)).