It’s been an exciting year for Potterheads. We’ve been lucky enough to read The Cursed Child, anticipate Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and most importantly, the icing on the cake, the starting of the all-new Harry Potter club on campus. Founders Sarah Hou and Nana Mizuide’s efforts have brought wizarding magic to campus, and, as a result, Santa Clara has been blessed to experience a real life sorting hat ceremony, Snape’s potion class, a Tom “Riddle” Scavenger hunt, and so much more.
Co-founder Sarah Hou was first inspired to start a Harry Potter themed club when she made the decision to come to SCU all the way from Taiwan as an international student. She said, “English is a hard and confusing language. If it [wasn’t] for…Harry Potter, I would have never thought I would be speaking English or studying abroad in the U.S.” Harry Potter acted as a link to the English-speaking world for her, as it was the first English novel she read and was “the motivation…to [learn] English on [her] own.” Many of us felt something miraculous from the books, but this sensation is especially magical. Harry Potter inspired her “to do great things and taught [her] to believe in impossible.”
The story continues with Hou having a simple dream of “sitting in a circle and [having a] nerdy discussion [about] my favorite part of the books.” She carried this vision all the way from Taiwan, and it didn’t enter into reality until her friend, Nana Mizuide, shared the exact same sentiment with her one day at lunch. With some hard work, endless devotion by both founders and their team of friends, and perhaps a wave or two of a magic wand, the Harry Potter Club was officially brought into action.
I was first enticed by the club at the club fair, where Hou, Mizuide, and the rest of the team set up a table with a “Have you seen this wizard?” photo booth and handed out Hogwarts acceptance letters to everyone who signed up. The first meeting I went to was a potions class, in which I got to make potion charms for a fundraiser (and myself). The club set up was accurate down to the details; members were sorted by their Pottermore houses to meet with fellow housemates, and sat on tables with banners displaying their houses. There’s also an ongoing House Cup in which all members aspire to collect points for their team.
The club meets at 5:30 in Sobrato Hall and is always looking for new Potterheads to share with. The board and co founders of the club are simply hoping for the Harry Potter Club to “always be a safe place for everyone to stay” and enjoy sharing their passion. There’s so much more to look forward to: Dobby’s sock making, Hermione’s study group, and Movie Nights, so take some time out to relax and dapple in the wizarding arts on Monday evenings to check out what all the hype is about!
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