by Ryan Abner
With Covid-19 still a prominent issue going into 2021, most schools are vacant and have moved online with no students on campus, with Minarets being no exception. So how, with everyone home, has the Minarets Leadership program been able to function? A class/club meant primarily to organize in-person events like fundraisers and dances (or fundraiser dances) must be pretty helpless during the shutdowns, right?
Actually, something completely different has been taking place in the leadership class over the last few weeks. Rather than wait until things open back up to interact with the community, the organization has actually seen more activity through Instagram and social media than it would have in person normally. Every week leadership has been posting unique challenges on their social media to engage the community. From caption contests to scavenger hunts, leadership students have gone above and beyond the generic "guess how many beans in the jar" type of interaction.
In fact, their involvement with the community isn't just limited to the weekly challenges. Leadership has taken a substantial amount of time with Link Crew, a program normally designed to interact with middle school students and incoming freshmen. During distance learning, leadership students working with freshmen to ensure that they are not lost or confused in the new system of learning and making sure they feel connected to the larger Minarets community.
But what is leadership's “game plan” moving forward into 2021? Things are a lot more optimistic than one might expect. Ever since the program encountered its online challenges, they have also begun planning dances and lunchtime challenges to have at the ready should students be able to come back in the spring semester. “As of now we are planning for the best,” says leadership adviser Juan Ortiz. “We are anticipating three dances this year and are hoping to add some new fun stuff to our athletic events”
With a return to Minarets long overdue, students can find comfort in knowing that if they come back, there are community events already in the works!