Goodbye, Makers Club

By Mary Lee

As October slowly came to an end, the first quarter also came to an end. And sadly, the Dalat Makers Club also has had to stop for a long break.

The Dalat Makers Club, started by Alex Shing, an alumnus, had been able to carry on this year, thanks to Trevor Nichols from the freshman class, Cecelia Sheng from the sophomore class, and Mrs. Jessica Morken, a physics teacher. Mostly student-lead, this club was for anyone who likes to deal with coding, devices, and also enjoys designing and problem-solving. It was also open for students with no prior experiences with such things. The Makers Club always started by learning to use programs/devices before getting into creative projects.  

Last year, the club members got to learn how to use "Arduino" and a little bit of "Scratch," an online platform that allows us to make small games. This year, Trevor started teaching the members how to use "Processing," and got as far as creating circles - of varying colors and sizes - on a blank page, and moving them around in different ways.

Unfortunately, getting into the second quarter, the Dalat students got busier with seniors on their applications, juniors working in the Galley, sophomores in their Sophostore, and the freshmen class getting the hang of their restless high school schedule. As the quarter changed, new season sports came up, adding to the already overwhelming time tables of our Dalat students. Due to this, the Makers Club could not gather enough members with more regular attendance. Also, the members were getting extremely busy themselves, as after the club got canceled, Trevor said, "I feel that it really freed up my time and made me relax more."

As unfortunate as this situation is, the Makers Club members are happy to say that they have a bit more space in their schedule now. And hopefully, next semester, they can have a better start with more members and free time in their calendar, and Dalat students also don't forget to continue doing what interests them.