By Daniela Martinez
Last week students of MAST@FIU attended their first virtual club fair. Since the transition from physical school to online classes, both high schoolers and teachers have grown accustomed to meeting through platforms such as Zoom, where the fair took place. Club sponsors and officers created enticing PowerPoints explaining why each club is noteworthy, reasons to join, and the Zoom links to get there.
During the week of September 25th, associations like Pre-Health, Key Club, Mu Alpha Theta, and Model United Nations held their reunions from 11:45 am to 12:15 pm, lunchtime. Both the students and faculty had their thoughts about the club fair: what they liked or disliked, what they would change, and their overall thoughts on the striking difference from last year's event.
Senior Ari Barbella-Blaha made notable comments about the club fair and what his thoughts and observations were. Barbella-Blaha is an active member of several clubs, including Mu Alpha Theta, Model UN, GSA, and Key Club. When asked to share his take on this year's event, he said: "I felt as though the club fair was rather unorganized because the club leaders were notified about the structure on very short notice."
From the perspective of a teacher, Mrs. Ellis, who also leads many club activities, had much to say about the event; she said that "the Club Fair worked out really well...we had an upwards of 60 students come into our Zoom room to check out NHS, Key Club, and GSA." However, the shift from our club fair last year to this year felt quite radical. Ellis explains that "the challenges of engaging students virtually because of the pandemic has made even the institutional events, like Club fairs, club meetings, and other events problematic."
During last week's club fair session, more teams, including Surf Rider, UNICEF, and Mental Health Club, held their introductory sessions. Also, between lunchtime, various students attended and continued to have distinct perspectives on the second part of the club fair. Anya Malek, a sophomore who participated in the event, shares her thoughts. "This year was less chaotic than last year. Everything was online, and it was difficult to see multiple clubs at one point. I was only able to see one club. It was difficult to navigate, and by the time you get into the zoom, the meeting felt like it was already over."
Creating a large meeting like this under the current circumstances deserves appreciation and much credit. The students at The Bay Current would like to thank Mrs. Rowan-Rodriguez for organizing this event and allowing us to experience the tradition of Club Fair from the comfort of our own homes.
Comments