Since the COVID-19 pandemic struck in mid-March, thrivation for clubs at Carlsbad High has seemed to be near impossible. While many clubs have decided to press pause on the lunchtime meetings and after-school get-togethers, Happy Period Club has decided that the show must go on! Recently, Lancer Link sat down with Mina Pesakovic, the club’s president, to answer a few questions. 

Lancer Link: Can you tell me a little about the history of Happy Period Club?

Mina Pesakovic: Happy Period is a national nonprofit, so it’s not like it’s only at Carlsbad, it’s nationwide. The Carlsbad branch started at CHS with Maddie Ward, she was the one who reached out and started it. And it’s been going since then, when I took over and she left. 

LL: How did you become president of Happy Period Club?

MP: I became president towards the end of last year, my sophomore year, when I went to a couple events and I just really liked the message of it. I thought that it was a really great thing to be able to reach out and help all of these women and just people who need these essential menstrual products. I felt really empowered by the whole message. So that’s when I reached out to Maddie Ward at the end of the school year and I asked her about how to get involved.

LL: How have your first club meetings as president gone?

MP: We started having meetings in September, but the one that we just had a couple weeks ago was our first in-person packing party. Our meetings have mainly been on Zoom with the pandemic, we want to try and limit as much in-person contact as possible. But it has been so awesome. Everybody is so great for going to these meetings and interacting and being super involved… I know that it’s hard right now to be able to stay involved and try and go to these things, but everybody’s just been so cool, it has made my job so much fun in this club. With the packing party, we did social distance and comply with the rules, but it was just great to finally see everyone in person. I feel like, now, we’re starting to finally get the hang of this whole running-a-club-in-quarantine thing. We’re figuring out exactly what works and what doesn’t work… so it’s just really great to be able to have everyone come out and stay involved and to see that people are as passionate about this as I am. 

LL: How do you get the products for your club meetings for your packing parties?

MP: We’ve had donation drives, so people can just stop by and drop off pads, tampons, soap, deodorant, just any sort of menstrual or just general hygiene product. But even though people have been helping a ton, it is still run primarily by us and funded primarily by the club members with these donations. Like I said before, everybody’s buying things with their own money. I know that it’s not ideal, but just seeing that people are taking their own time and money and putting it into this club to make a difference is just great.

LL: How do you use social media to advertise for the club?

MP: I’ve been trying to get on as many platforms as possible. I’ve been sending a ton of messages on Remind, we have our Instagram page, and we have a lot of people following that. If there’s any updates, we’ll be putting it on our page or in our bio. So we’re just trying to really keep everyone in the loop. Because like I said, we want to get everybody as involved as possible and keep them involved throughout the year… I feel like a really big part of getting our club members is through social media, so we’ve been trying to have really strong presence this year with that.

LL: What do you feel is the most gratifying part of Happy Period Club?

MP: Honestly, just getting everyone together and saying that they’re happy and have a big smile on their faces. I know that people probably see the name Happy Period Club, and they look at that stigma that was created around periods and they probably think, No, I don’t want to get involved. But really, it’s so much more than that. We do so much for people in need, and I think a lot of people overlook that aspect of it. Seeing people who are so passionate about this, and are actually willing to take the time to learn about what we do and learn about who we’re helping in our overall mission… makes this whole thing so worth it to me. Even though I’m passionate about it, it’s really nice to see that everybody else is too… so I feel like that makes my job easier, and it makes everything just so much more tight knit.