Cathedral High School offers a wide range of clubs and activities, ranging from the fun-filled Lumberjack Society to the educational and diverse EMBRACE Club. However, the weight of the club falls onto one person’s shoulders more than any other: the moderator.

Moderators look over the club, help elect student leaders and set the time and place of meetings, keeping everything appropriate, fun and organized. 

Yet one teacher has successfully been running not one, not two, but three clubs while also focusing on her duties as part of the staff that educates the hearts and minds of Cathedral students. 

Anatomy teacher Mrs. Susan Mills has run the Horse Club for about 12 years, the Medical Club for around five and the American Sign Language club for four years.

 When it came to the Horse Club, Mills said, “I started the Horse Club and thought it would be neat to introduce some of the urban kids to horses and country living. They don’t have a chance to see that a lot. There were a lot of kids who had horses and took lessons, so I thought we could start this club so that people who cared about horses could make new friends. Plus, I like to ride and I like to have people come ride with me.”

About her decision to moderate the Medical Club, Mills said, “I was asked by some students who wanted to start it if I would moderate it, and they said since I was the anatomy teacher it made the most sense. I agreed.”

Finally, when it came to the American Sign Language Club, Mills said, “A student approached me because she’d started the club. Another teacher had been moderating it but that teacher left the school, leaving the club (without a moderator). She said she just needed a human body to be the moderator. So I said OK and now I am really into it. I’m learning it — now I say this because I stink — to the point that I could communicate with a deaf person at least a little bit. There are tons of deaf people out there, you just don’t know it. Some deaf people are taught to read lips and not even do sign language. Overall, I’m happy learning because I can communicate with more people than before.”

While the school is home to multiple language classes — French, Spanish, German, Latin — ASL will become a language option next school year. While it is currently an elective, the language will be counted as a foreign language.

“A lot of kids that struggle with spoken languages can excel at sign language because it is more of a physical language, so I’m so happy that after nearly three years, it is soon to be a choice as a foreign language,” Mills said. 

Overall, Mills stated that while moderating so many clubs certainly keeps her busy, she couldn’t be happier. “I just get to see a lot of kids that I’ve enjoyed in my classes,” she said, “and get to meet a lot of new kids as well through the clubs. It’s really fun for everyone and keeps me on my feet.”