Kathleen Nguyen had already established a footprint for activism at her school before she heard the news about the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

After learning about Parkland, she was ready to spring into action and join thousands of other teens across the country the national walk-out.

Nguyen, 14, started a club at Sylvester Middle School called “Power with Justice.”

“It’s like a support group,” she said. “We sit in a circle and talk about topics, how we feel about them and what we want to do to change things.”

Most of the discussions have centered on racism and feminism. Recently, the focus has shifted to gun control.

Nguyen said her goal was to help students become more aware of social issues. Her club currently has seven members, including 14-year old Raena Riley.

“We didn’t have any other clubs at school that talk about the problems in the world,” Riley said. “I felt we should, because the world we live in isn’t perfect.”

The group found out about the plans for the national protest held on March 14 on social media and went to work organizing for the event.

Riley said that the club members made orange armbands for students to wear, posters for them to hold and flyers they could hand out.

Nguyen said that she was glad to see students speak up about gun violence. “We need to stand up, because our voice matters,” she said.

Riley hopes that the student protests will lead to stricter gun laws. “We should have done something about this a long time ago,” she said. “We shouldn’t be able to have guns when we’re 18 years old, especially with no background checks. We need to work on this more and very soon.”

Nguyen agreed. “I want kids to go to school to get an education and not think they’re going to get shot,” she said.

Both girls said they are frightened at school after the Parkland shooting, especially after a recent lock-down on campus.

Elaiza Hoxha,13, joined the club to support her friend Nguyen and has become an active member. “I realized that what Kathleen was doing was important,” Hoxha said. “We were all doing something together to help.”

Hoxha was also encouraged to see the students walk out of campus as part of the national protest. “People should be aware of what’s happening and not just forget,” she said. “It’s not just a one-time thing. If you don’t do something to stop it, then it will keep happening.”

Nguyen said that now that the protest has passed, her club meetings will go back to discussing other issues, but members will not ease off their focus on gun violence.

The club plans to convene on weekends to write to legislators about their concerns and hopes for gun laws.

“I’m trying to do more,” Nguyen said. “We have a voice, and we have to live through trauma every day. Every time we get a school announcement, we’re worried that there’s a shooter.”