“I think we’ll get out of this a lot stronger than we did when we’re going into it,” said senior Emily Lent. 

Since the beginning of COVID-19, schools around the nation have been affected by the pandemic. School events have been delayed for months then later canceled when the nation went on lockdown. As the school year restarts volunteer-based clubs are trying to figure out new ways to balance the new regulations from the pandemic. 

Lent is serving as the 2020-21 Key Club President. This is her second year being an officer and her fourth year in the club. Lent joined Key club because she loves helping people and she loves hanging out with her friends while creating a difference in the community. 

“For Key Club, it was pretty hard-hitting because most of the events that we do are in person like volunteering and socials, and just things well most of the things I do are in person. And so it’s been pretty hard,”  said Lent. “Although COVID has prevented a lot of the physical events students can attend, members still try to do volunteering because it’s human compassion. When there are people that need help, those who are able to give help will give it to those who are not able to. And for me, I was also very surprised because I thought we were going to have to get our officers to finish. I didn’t think that many people [would] actually cooperate and want to be a part of the drive that we were doing. So I was also very shocked, but in a good way.” 

The new KatyISD COVID-19 Safety Protocols have restricted the ability for clubs to meet in person, this has been especially in-person contact volunteer opportunities. Lent and Key Club are trying to provide volunteer opportunities for their members so they can still help their community. One way Key Club has been providing new events is through drives like donations.

“Recently, for example, we did a drive where we asked our members to make little care packages,” said Lent. “We asked them to write a nice little note and to make an origami heart. And with that, we were kind of worried because we didn’t think we were going to get enough bags, it was pretty hard to communicate well over the summer. We were kind of worried whether the members would be willing to engage with us again, but thankfully they proved us wrong. We were able to get all the packages when needed, and I’m thankful for my members for staying connected with us and helping us achieve our goals.” 

Anika Ravishankar is a current senior who is the Executive Vice President of Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA). She has been a member of the club since freshman year. Ravishankar has been to FBLA competitions for the past three years, her favorite part about FBLA is the competitions because she is able to bond with her friends. Due to the pandemic this year, competitions may be moved online instead of being in person.                                            

“My favorite part about FBLA was seeing all the people that I love and collaborating and working with,” said Ravishankar. “It was that experience that I missed the most. We play games together, we eat together. It’s like that feeling of having a community. I also miss the competition we’d have because those are some of the most fun events. We’d go to a school and compete on different topics and learn about business. That’s definitely something that I miss out on. But I do think with the efforts we’re making through our meetings and our socials make up for that in a way, maybe not fully but I definitely still get to see all the people and have conversations with them and meet new people through breakout rooms.” 

Rutaba Ali is also a senior who is Co-President for FBLA. She has also been a member of FLBA for 4 years. Ali is also part of other clubs like Photography Club, Chinese Club, and Student Council.

“Our community service officers have been looking into trying to help out the community in that situation,” said Ali. “One upcoming event we have that’s not fully settled yet, but we’re trying to plan now is like sending letters and stuff to hospitals and the nurses thanking them for the hard work and stuff. So that’s what we want to help out because it’s hard to help on the way. we can go in person so trying to find out ways to kind of help and thank them for the work, virtually so that’s one of the events we have coming up, but I know that our community service officers are working towards finding more for this school year.” 

Senior President of FBLA, Lisa Liu, has been in FBLA since her freshman year. Liu and her team have been finding new ways to provide an outlet for students to gain experience and bonding through zoom calls and other online services. Liu and her team have planned online socials, like games and breakout rooms, in order to create some type of community within the club.

“We can’t let Corona ruin our ability and opportunity to help other people,” Liu said. “So I think it’s very important to take our fate to our own hands and utilize what we can and can’t do to help other people’s circumstances.”