Every other Thursday in room C264 amid the lively chatter of students awaiting the start of the meeting, Bella Chlada rings the Key Club bell before leading the club in reciting the Key Club Pledge.

“I pledge, on my honor, to uphold the objects of Key Club International; to build my home, school, and community to serve my nation and God; and to combat all forces that tend to undermine these institutions,” Chlada said.

Chlada has a passion for service and always prioritizes volunteer work. She was first introduced to service as a member of Girl Scouts and said how service has since impacted her life.

“I was young and impressionable, but I saw it as a fun way to hang out with my friends. As I grew older, I began to experience a lot of hardships and found that I could really depend on service. Service was something that was always there, and it made other people happy, as well as myself, Chlada said.

Chlada is the current president of the DGS Key Club. Key Club is the high school branch of the service organization Kiwanis, which aims to better the lives of children in their communities.

Key Club Sponsor and counselor Amy Klug said how Chlada contributes to the Key Club at DGS.

“She is always really excited about service opportunities. In the past, I’ve had some officers at times who just want the officer position but don’t do a lot of service. She fulfills her officer positions really well and is also really active in service activities,” Klug said.

Klug also said how Chlada’s positivity impacts the club.

“She is a key factor in our success right now. She is a really good role model for the other officers and members. She brings a really positive energy to the entire group, and I think that reflects on everyone else’s enthusiasm for Key Club,” Klug said.

Chlada is also a Chapter Head for the Downers Grove Letters for Rose Chapter. Letters for Rose is a nonprofit organization that has over 400 chapters throughout the United States. Letters For Rose was created by two high school students in 2020 to help spread positivity to nursing home residents in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chlada’s boyfriend and co-chapter head for Letters for Rose said how her personality makes her a strong leader and volunteer.

“Bella is someone who genuinely cares about how others feel and will try to accommodate for their situation. She loves simply being with people and getting to hear their thoughts, feelings, and interests. She is a great leader who attempts to make the world a better place by brightening one individual’s day at a time,” Del Cotto said.

Chlada volunteers for Special Olympics and is a coach for D99 hoops. She also volunteers for Honor Flight Chicago. The main goal of Honor Flight is to raise funds to send veterans to Washington, D.C. to be honored for their service. For all of the organizations that she works with, Chlada said she believes that they all have shared beliefs.

“All of the organizations that I volunteer with come down to a common theme of respecting those who are in your community and making them feel worthy of love,” Chlada said.

Chlada said that she feels that service to others is her calling.

“The best part about volunteering is knowing that you helped somebody. I feel like my purpose in life is to be a guiding light who advocates for what I believe in and keep a kind heart, especially to those who need it the most,” Chlada said.

After high school, Chlada hopes to continue to serve others. She intends to major in special education and become a high school special education teacher. She said why she believes this is the best career choice for her.

“My career is a field that is centered on guiding people and believing in them. Outside of my job, I plan on doing a lot of advocating for people with disabilities and creating a more unified world,” Chlada said.

Del Cotto also commented on Chlada’s ability to work with people with disabilities.

“Bella has a personal goal to improve the lives of individuals with disabilities. She has paid employment to help these individuals but also gives up much of her spare time to do activities in this area as a volunteer. It brings her so much joy to make them happy and spend as much time with them as possible. It’s a genuine passion,” Del Cotto said.

During her junior year of high school, Chlada had an internship at an elementary school through her introduction to teaching class. English teacher and Introductory to Teaching teacher, Valerie Hardy, said how Chlada’s perseverance through the pandemic will contribute to success in her future career.

“Even amidst the many challenges of going to high school and interning in an elementary school special education class last year during a global pandemic, Bella was always smiling. She was unfazed by the limitations of last year’s remote learning and hybrid learning environments; rather, she sought to make the most of her own learning experience and offered the same to the students with whom she worked during her internship at Hillcrest Elementary School,” Hardy said.

Hardy also recounted an instance in which Chlada demonstrated her willingness to always serve others.

“When I was approached by a parent of a middle schooler within the community who asked if I had a recommendation for a high school student to tutor her daughter, I thought of Bella immediately. Not only was Bella able to increase the middle schooler’s comprehension of the subject matter, she was also instrumental in boosting the student’s self-esteem. That’s the effect Bella has on others: she makes them feel cared for and valued,” Hardy said.