Elizabeth Ryan (12) stood at the front of room G-115 and in big letters wrote “GOD’S LOVE” on the whiteboard in blue expo marker. Over the course of the following 30 minutes, Ryan spoke about her experience with Christianity, shared Bible verses, and led a prayer. Each time the door creaked open, Ryan waved them in, saying “Come in, come in.”

While not an official ASB-sanctioned club, each Thursday Ryan holds Pizza and Peace club meetings. Ryan said that she received permission from admin to gather a group of students together once a week for the club, even though she missed the deadline to submit a new club application. Since returning to Westview after the COVID-19 school closures in her ninth and tenth-grade years, Ryan wanted to start a religious club, but she didn’t take action until now, her senior year. 

“I felt like even though we have Christian clubs at school, some people who needed to be reached weren’t being reached. I wanted a club that anyone could come to: anyone who’s not a Christian, who hates God, who feels like they have no purpose in their life, or who is a Christian. It’s for everyone.”

Like her, many students in Ryan’s church youth group have started campus clubs at their respective high schools. She said that the students are encouraged to share their experiences with religion, even though it may be challenging. 

“I felt like God was saying [to me that] I have to go to [Westview], tell people about the good news, and tell people about how I was saved,” Ryan said. “I didn’t want to keep that to myself. I was inspired by God, but the original idea was from our church. [Forming campus clubs] are just a part of our youth group. You have to tell people at your school about who Jesus is.”

Through her experience with her church’s youth group, Ryan said she sees the benefits of being part of a religious community. She said that she hopes this positive experience can carry over to her club.

“The youth group [acts as] a way of trying to strengthen each other and keep each other accountable,” Ryan said. “We make sure that people aren’t struggling in school, not just with homework, but [also] emotionally and mentally. [On youth nights,] we play games, and then we’ll have a message about things that we, as students, are struggling with, like anxiety and stress.”

Rachele Dusa (‘18), a Westview alumnus, has volunteered to help Ryan start the club. After studying business at Cal State Long Beach for three years, Dusa returned to San Diego with a degree in Human Resources. Now, she attends the Bible college program at her church in which she learns about the Old and New Testament, serves her community, volunteers, and helps students at her church, like Ryan, start campus clubs.

“I came back [to San Diego] because of COVID and I moved back in with my parents,” Dusa said. “At first, I didn’t want to move back in with my parents. I wanted to go find what I’m supposed to be doing. I really found that purpose [after] one of my friends invited me to Carmel Church in 4S Ranch. Now I go to the Bible college program there.”

When a pastor at the church asked Dusa to help Ryan with the club, she was eager to return to Westview.

“I was super excited,” Dusa said. “I thought this was going to be a full circle moment to go back to Westview and see how things are running on campus. It’s cool to give back to [the school] that helped me become the person I am today.”

Although Ryan initially intended for the club to be focused solely on speakers, her pastor encouraged her to provide club members with lunch. 

“In the Bible, Jesus always feeds people,” Ryan said. “I was going to keep it as just telling people about God, but my pastor said that I should give them food. It’s to say, ‘Hey, if you don’t want to come for God, you can come for pizza.’ You can come for whatever reason you need to come. If that’s pizza, come on in and have some pizza.”

So far, Ryan has had four meetings that have covered a variety of topics.

“I’ve been speaking about whatever God tells me to,” Ryan said. “I’ve talked about peace and how to find it, which was the first one. Then I talked about love for Valentine’s Day. It’s just me sharing what God’s said. I have conviction in my heart that’s saying, ‘You need to tell these people what you’ve found; you can’t just keep it to yourself.’”

Ryan said that she values diversity of opinion in the club and wants to ensure that everyone who attends a meeting feels welcome. 

“Everyone who has something to say, let them say it,” Ryan said. “It’s up to God, what he wants to do in these people’s lives. I’m not going to stop anyone from coming, speaking, and sharing what they have to say.

In the future, Ryan wants to expand the activities that the club offers, including having speakers, like Dusa, and ensuring there is engaged participation.

“I really want to do a Q & A where people can throw out their questions and I can answer them,” Ryan said. “You can tell someone something and it can just go in one ear and out the other. But if you really catch their attention and have them engaged so they’re listening, whether or not that sticks in their head doesn’t matter to me, it’s just planting a seed.”

Ryan said she hopes that students who come to the club will expand upon their relationship with religion by attending a youth group or church. 

“The club is a bridge to coming from here and going into a relationship with God or going to a church nearby,” Ryan said. “I want to encourage the club to come to our youth group. That’s something that you can depend on outside of school. You know that it won’t change. Even if you’re not a Christian, at least you have this thing you can always go to.”

Dusa said that she sees the club providing emotional healing for students, especially in the stressful environment of high school. 

“There are so many things that students are distracted by or that they can focus on instead of focusing on loving themselves and loving others,” Dusa said. “Because of social media, we’re focused on comparing ourselves, whereas [Pizza and Peace club] can provide a sense of healing. We focus on loving God, loving other people, spreading that love, and just making everyone’s days better.”

Starting the club as a senior, Ryan said that she doesn’t expect much as far as the future of the club, including whether or not it will become an official club. She mostly just hopes it helps as many Westview students as possible. 

“I want it to reach more people, but I don’t care about what it’s going to do for me, but rather what it’s going to do for God and what it’s going to do for the people who are going,” Ryan said. “Next year, I’m going to be an intern at the church, so I’ll probably be back at the club. That’s what the future’s going to look like.”