Inside Youth Alive’s Christmas guest-speaker event
As Christmas approached, Youth Alive worked hard to bring the holiday spirit to AHS. Even though finals were coming up, the club tried to create a space where students could relax, connect, and remember what the season actually means.
On December 9th, they hosted an event with Pastor Ray, a guest speaker. After a sermon, students enjoyed free cookies and hung out together, which helped set a positive tone for the rest of the season. Sage Gebrekidan (12), who is part of the social media team, said, “We like to do stuff like this around the holidays. We just like to make people feel connected.”
For Gebrekidan, Christmas with Youth Alive feels special because it gives students a chance to focus on their faith in a school environment. “I definitely enjoy being able to think about Christ in relation to holidays and be able to do that with all of my friends,” she said. “You don’t get to do that a lot at school, which makes it really special for me.”
Gebrekidan also noticed that the club has grown this year. “We have a lot more people involved in different things. We have a bigger praise team this year than we did last year,” she said. Small moments, like handing out cookies, also matter to her. “I feel a sense of peace―just with the smile I see on people’s faces.”
Youth Alive members handed out cookies to students at the end of the club’s Christmas event, wrapping up the meeting with food and conversation (Photo Credit: Marjan Nabizada (11)).
Melody Wu (11), also on the social media team, said the club has done a good job keeping the mood positive, even with finals coming up. “It’s a very joyous time. I know it could be stressful due to finals, but we still manage to make everything happier and jollier in the club.”
The club’s vice president, Sama Khoury (11), also played a big role in preparing for the season. “We have to get guest passes for pastors, find money to buy food for the event, and make posters for people to learn about the event.”
Khoury makes sure to support everyone during the planning process. “I try my best to check in on everyone and just help out wherever I need to,” she said.
One moment that stood out to Khoury was when the club struggled to find a speaker. “We had to cooperate together as a team to find one,” she said. Balancing school and leadership responsibilities was also difficult for her.
Still, seeing everything come together made the stress worth it for Khoury. “[The most meaningful part was] the event itself—just seeing people actually show up and pay attention,” Khoury said.
Pastor Ray spoke to students during Youth Alive’s Christmas meeting, sharing a sermon about the meaning of the holiday season (Photo Credit: Marjan Nabizada (11)).
Khoury said the club tries its best to stay supportive, especially when things get busy. “Even though we’re stressed, we cooperate together, and we don’t take our stress out on each other,” she explained. “If one person is too stressed, we tell the others, and they take their task and help out.”
In spite of stress and other setbacks, club members repeated one message—they wanted students to understand the real meaning of Christmas. As Khoury put it, “We’re trying to spread the message about what Christmas is truly about, and that it’s not only about giving gifts.”
With teamwork, faith, and preparation behind the scenes, Youth Alive hoped its Christmas events would bring warmth and meaning to students at AHS during one of the busiest times of the year.
Eagle Era 
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