California teens serve in CTR club

Carolyn Hale and Tera-Lynne Pierson are co-presidents of the CTR club at Los Alamitos High in California; the cllub has now been active for nearly a decade.

The club was originally named "The Stripling Warriors," but the name was changed to avoid confusion among the non-Mormon students on campus.

"There is an extremely wide variety of clubs at Los Al, and April (Given of the Los Alamitos Ward, Long Beach East Stake) decided to start this club so she and the other LDS members at school could be active in school and be in an environment that is consistent with the standards of how they wanted to live; that is one of the main reasons we have continued this club at Los Alamitos High — it is so important for kids to know there is at least one place on campus where they can be with kids that share the same standards as them," Pierson said.

"This year we had around 30 people sign up for the club, so we are super excited about that, but usually only 20 kids attend regularly — this number also includes three non-LDS students."

The club includes members from the Long Beach East, Cerritos and Cypress California stakes.

They meet during lunch on Tuesdays in David Barker's room.

"As club presidents, Carolyn and I are planning activities that are directed towards community service and humanitarian aid," Pierson said. "For example, we are currently making the arrangements for the members of the CTR club to be able to tie blankets during an upcoming meeting at lunch. It is a requirement at our school for each member of a club to participate in at least seven hours of community service during the year."