Newton’s law says an object at rest will stay at rest unless acted upon by an outside force. This principle was put into action by junior Gabi Alfarache, who wanted more opportunities to explore science than what McCallum had to offer. So she took it upon herself to change that.

“I’ve always been more of a STEM-minded person,” Alfarache said. “That comes more naturally to me than writing, history or the humanities. For the first few years of high school, I thought that I wanted to pursue business, but then I came to really like the sciences. But I found that there wasn’t a lot of space to explore that at McCallum.”

After doing some research into science-based activities at school over the summer, Alfarache came across an organization known as Science National Honor Society. With that, Alfarache became the founding member of McCallum’s very own chapter of SNHS.
But her love for science didn’t start there. Alfarache’s father, who studied physics at the University of Texas, first inspired her interest in the subject.

“His involvement in science was always really interesting to me,” Alfarache said. “He gave me a lot of cool experiences with that when I was younger because he finished his degree when I was in elementary school. Once, we went to Houston to go look at the NASA facilities, and he told me about how he wrote the code to test the glue used for rockets that were actually sent to space. So it was really cool to see and learn about and stuff like that.”

Alfarache hoped to carry that passion for science into high school, but given that Mac houses a Fine Arts Academy, there are limited opportunities to explore science outside the classroom.

“I think it’s important to have those opportunities,” Alfarache said, “because while we are an art school, and we have really great opportunities in all areas of the arts, I think that people who are interested in things outside of that should be able to pursue those at an advanced level if they want to.”

SNHS was the perfect solution to the problem. Much like the regular National Honor Society, SNHS is a national organization that provides students with science-based volunteer opportunities, allowing them to build a community of like-minded learners.

“I thought it would be an interesting way to give other people who are interested in science at McCallum an opportunity to explore those interests at a more advanced level,” Alfarache said. “And also just have it available to people who maybe want to see if they’re interested in science.”

Alfarache decided to ask her AP Chemistry teacher, Tabitha Villarreal, to sponsor the club. Even though the school year had just begun and it was Villarreal’s first year teaching at Mac, she agreed.

“I was very surprised that she took it upon herself to do this within the month that school had started,” Villarreal said. “It was surprising to me that we didn’t already have an SNHS, but it was really refreshing to see somebody take that effort. It wasn’t a teacher trying to step up; it was coming from the students, and it was a really nice thing to see.”

Once Villarreal agreed to sponsor the club, Alfarache advertised it at the annual club fair. To her surprise, the student response was positive: at the first SNHS meeting, around 25 people showed up.

“It was really exciting for me to see [the response] because it reaffirmed that there really are people who are interested,” Alfarache said. “I think it’s good if there are people that join and want to just try it out, but it’s also really nice to have these people that are already interested in science on a deeper level. I think it’s really cool to have that kind of community.”

Now, the club has around 30 members. Alfarache is the president and not only leads club meetings but also updates the group’s calendar with science-related volunteer opportunities happening around Austin. Members of the club are required to have four science-related service hours per semester and to have a grade point average of 3.0 or above. Fortunately for Alfarache, a dedicated athlete and student in rigorous classes, leading SNHS has not increased the load on her shoulders.

“Everyone in the club is really self-sufficient,” Alfarache said. “I’m glad that that’s the kind of people who were attracted. There’s not too much I have to do for the club, so it’s been really manageable outside of my other responsibilities.”

While Alfarache may not think she does very much for the club, Villarreal would argue it couldn’t function without her.

“She’s the superstar,” Villarreal said. “I’m kind of just her little cheerleader in the background. She takes everything up with open arms. If something needs to be done, I don’t even need to say anything. She already knows that it needs to be done. She’s really just taking it on herself. I won’t take any credit whatsoever. It’s all Gabi.”

Senior and SNHS member Vaughn Vandegrift shares Villarreal’s perspective.

“She does a great job running the club,” Vandegrift said. “She has a beautiful calendar where she put together all of these events we can go to and participate in, and she runs our meetings really efficiently.”

Vandegrift agrees with Alfarache that McCallum’s SNHS branch provides valuable support for members of the student body who are interested in science.

“I consider myself a really science- invested person, and I really appreciated being recognized and supported as I search for specific science-related things to do around the community,” Vandegrift said.

Additionally, Alfarache recognizes the competitive edge organizations such as SNHS can give students who are looking toward college.

“If you really are interested in STEM and science, you’re competing with people from other schools that are specialized toward science,” Alfarache said. “I wanted to give an opportunity for myself and everyone else to have rigorous and advanced experiences in science, so that you really are on the same level as these kids that just happened to go to a different school.”

Even for those who aren’t sure whether science is the path they want to pursue, SNHS will be there for them as they figure it out, all thanks to Alfarache.

“It’s never too late to join,” Alfarache said. “You don’t have to be dedicated to the STEM field to join. It’s really just a great way to build your resumé in general and just test the waters. That’s what high school is about: you don’t have to be super dedicated to anything just yet.”