From table-top gamers, to robot mechanics, our school is teeming with exciting groups, each offering something special for students. Whether you’re into engineering, feeding the hungry, or discovering new passions, there’s a club for you. I visited and interviewed the heads of three different clubs, Food For the Hungry, Robotics, and Dungeons and Dragons, to truly understand who they are and what they do.
Science Hill’s newest addition happens to be the ‘Food For the Hungry’ club . Founded by Deep Chanda and Neil Redy, this club was created after they witnessed habitat for humanity handing out food to homeless people- realizing the need for food donations, they were struck with the idea to make this club.
“We thought we should do something to give back to our community” Deep exclaims. “We meet every other week and make 150 sandwiches, then Neil and I deliver them to food shelters.” This club meets in the Culinary room every other Wednesday, he adds, and any help is welcome.
If you happen to be interested in STEM- whether that’s through engineering robots, coding, marketing, and even driving, robotics is the place for you. Each year this team participates in two major events- VEX Robotics and FRC (FIRST Robotics Competition). Both are educational platforms where students get to build and program robots for competitions. VEX is known for its modular kits and smaller-scale challenges. In contrast, FRC features larger robots and more complex challenges, catering to advanced students and larger and more experienced groups.
There are several different teams within Topper Robotics that help the group function. Build team physically builds and designs the robot, while electrical deals with all wires and power supply (batteries, things like that). Coding team programs the robot to do certain tasks, and marketing raises money for part costs and competition fees, while also designing buttons and t-shirts for competition. Finally, drive team physically drives the robot at competition. You’re not limited to one group, and you can explore and join whichever team you desire.
Sam Wilder, the project manager of the team describes what they aspire to do. “We try to encourage STEM to as many people as possible, especially young people, to create future scientists and engineers, and even marketing directors, business men, and coders. We try to prepare people, we’re all for teaching.”
Last but definitely not least, Dungeons and Dragons is a thrilling fantasy roleplaying club, and happens to be one of the schools biggest organizations. Led by Russel Minatel, English teacher who provides all of the materials needed for the club, and Oz Michael the president who runs everything and sets up events, D&D is a club where imagination runs wild.
Dungeons and Dragons the game is essentially about storytelling. The DM (Dungeon Master) creates a storyline that they want the players to broadly follow, and the players can choose to do whatever they want- whether that’s following the clues the DM gives them, or creating a new story altogether. It’s like improv and a board game combined, allowing everyone to utilize their creativity and imagination. You may recognize it from Stranger Things- the difference here being no monsters actually come after the players.
“The goals for this club is just to get people involved playing DnD.” Oz exclaims “It’s a lot of improv and creativity, that’s definitely a big part of it, whether it be making your characters, running a game, creating a setting…(or) making something compelling that is going to be fun for everyone to be a part of.”
Dnd also allows for the development of friendships that can last a lifetime. Whether it be through campaigns that last for decades, or even a couple weeks, Dnd allows you to connect with others in a unique way. “I’ve made some of my best friends here, you get to goof off and be a person who isn’t you. It’s a great place to meet new people and have fun with others…you can play around with who you are and how you want to be perceived through a character in the game.”
With that said, our school’s diverse clubs offer exciting opportunities for students to explore their interests, give back to the community, and unleash their creativity. Whether it’s lending a helping hand with the ‘Food For the Hungry’ club, diving into the world of robotics with Topper Robotics, or embarking on imaginative adventures in Dungeons and Dragons, there’s something for everyone. Joining these clubs not only allows you to have fun and make new friends but also gives you the chance to make a real difference. So why wait? Get involved, make a difference, and be a part of something amazing in our school community!
