With the start to a new semester, several clubs have begun meeting for the first time after planning club activities last semester. Clubs had to adapt to a fully online meeting space and continue to find ways to keep club members connected with each other. The Thunderbolt interviewed four of Mills’ newly active clubs: Environmental Action Team (EAT), PC Club, and Esports Club.
Formed by former Youth Climate Ambassadors of San Mateo County, EAT strives to be a force for positive environmental change committed to spreading awareness and providing students with opportunities to minimize their ecological footprint. EAT is headed by co-presidents Maram Ahmed (11), Janice Yung (11), Kylie Chan (11), Secretary Alyssa Niwa (11), Treasurer Isabel Shinoki (11), and Marketing Director David Lock (11). Speaking upon motivations to form the club, Ahmed stated, “we were compelled to extend our passion to the school community to make a collective impact”. Currently, EAT is working on hosting a school wide environmental movie screening along with reaching out to local elementary schools to present about sustainable water practices and the significance behind conserving water supply. As young adults in an ever-worsening climate crisis, it is important for the students at Mills to be both empowered and informed to drive the change necessary for a more sustainable future. EAT gives opportunities for the youth to engage in necessary sustainable practices and meet like-minded, passionate people. Without in person meetings, EAT had to find ways in order to make sure all their members were up to date with all their activities by creating a Remind group chat and an Instagram page for updates. “Although COVID has put limitations on what we can do as a club, we are adapting by transitioning into virtual events, which has allowed for the events to reach a wider range of people”, expresses Ahmed. EAT invites all students to join one of their Zoom meetings and see what they’re all about. Additionally, make sure to follow mhs_eat on Instagram for their latest updates!
The PC club is an academic club that strives to experience all aspects of learning the art of computer building while discussing projects surrounding gaming and new breakthroughs in computational science. The PC club is headed by a group of students Presidents Nathan Choi (11) and Colman Yeung (11), Secretary Curtis Lou (10), Treasurer Ryan Lin (11) and Public Relations Leads Paul Wong (11) and Chris Woo (11). Talking upon why the club was formed, Choi expressed, “many students wanted to build their own gaming computer, but didn’t know where to start. We thought it would be a great idea to help students build their computer, grow their passion, and share their knowledge with other students that have the same interests.” In their meetings, they review the latest tech news and learn new skills about computer building. Currently, they are hosting their annual set up competition where students can earn prizes by submitting their desk setup with information can be found on their Instagram and their website. The PC Club is also in the process of building an all-powered online application that can help anyone easily find and choose parts for their own computer build. In order to keep up with the demand for their activities, the club started a coding team to teach members how to build websites from scratch. Choi continued on the importance of the PC club, “As computers evolve and become more impactful in our lives, we want as many students as possible to understand how they work and to experience the behind-the-scenes-perspective-First hand.” Related to virtual meetings, Covid has prevented them from administering hands-on activities (as they had done in our previous year); However it has given them the opportunity to focus on virtual/online projects. For example they wouldn’t have been able to hold coding lessons every week nor host a fully virtual setup competition. Make sure to drop in on one of their meetings on Fridays from 2:45-3:15, follow them on Instagram at millspc.club, and visit their website at pccclub.now.sh/ for more information!
Mills Esports, also known as electronic sports is a club that participates in online competitive games. The Esports Club is headed by Presidents Sherina Chan (11) and Ryan Huie(11), Secretary Justin Jiang(11), Public Relations Kayli Lee (11) and Chris Woo (11), Reporter Ryan Kwok(11), Historian Adam Wang(11), and the Board member Tommy Liu (12). The purpose of the Esports club is to provide a safe recreational and competitive environment for students who enjoy competitive gaming. Ultimately, their goal is to encourage club members to explore careers in entertainment and technology. Coming up on February 5th and 6th, the club is holding a local osu! Tournament and in the future, will have a Rocket League and League of Legends tournament. Make sure to check out their Instagram for links to sign up for upcoming tournaments! Anyone can sign up regardless of skill level. The Mills Esports club offers members opportunities to participate in competitive activities and make friends over these recreational activities. President Sherina Chan hopes the club will, “represent Mills throughout the many competitions they partake in. As our club grows in both reputation and size so will our positive influence on Mills.” For the most part Covid hasn’t had a negative or positive impact on their club as their competitions are set in the virtual world. Come play a couple games with the Esports club and visit their Instagram at mills__esports for the Zoom link!
Despite physical and technological limitations that these clubs may face, they have all been able to adapt and overcome these issues. Whether through social media or Zoom, these clubs have been able to coordinate activities to benefit the wider Mills community. It should be noted that these three clubs are not the only new clubs coming to Mills and there are many more to explore. If you wish to join these clubs or any other clubs at Mills, check out their social media pages or websites listed on the Mills website. It’s never too late to get involved with any of these clubs, so sign up today!
Since there are now 4 new clubs at Mills why not join and enjoy the high school experience. It isn’t too late to go sign up and that goes for all clubs that are going on.
Most of the new clubs at mills have been taking advantage of the situation we are in by using technology like in the PC club and Esports clup. The film club is making films/skits while being at home using cameras and social media. EAT is using their voices with social media, virtual meetings and etc. These new clubs at mills are for all students to enjoy in this time while being able to communicate to people who share the same interests and passions. These clubs give yet even more chances to meet new people at mills, especially for freshmen who have just joined the school.
