With a new school year, new opportunities begin to sprout around the building. From new classes, to teachers, to clubs, the brand new Bellefonte High Engineering Club plans to leave their mark on the school.

The club began a planning process last year, between senior, Vail Olson, and technology education teacher, Mr. Jonathan Mayes. As Vail plans to major in engineering post-graduation, kick starting the club seemed like a brilliant idea for him.

“I noticed a gap in extracurriculars focused on students’ future career paths—especially in STEM…I spoke with Mr. Mayes…he was immediately supportive, and together with Mr. Fedison, we worked through the summer and into the school year to make it official,” Vail said.

However, an unfortunate truth of being a senior is that Vail will not be able to see the club grow in the future. Despite this saddening news, Vail still shares his future aspirations for the team, and what he wants to see the club grow into.

“Our vision is to grow the club into a competitive and collaborative space where students can challenge each other—and eventually, other schools—in engineering-based projects,” Vail said, “In the future, I hope we can organize group tours and shadowing opportunities to deepen that exposure.”

Starting a club is no easy task, though. Without a doubt, challenges emerge early on in forming a club. A person must get a teacher supervisor and the school’s approval, while also gathering enough interest to stay relevant. 

“…the club came with challenges, especially finding effective ways to communicate and engage students,” he said, “Fortunately, Mr. Fedison streamlined the approval process with the school board, and with his and Mr. Mayes’ support, we were able to establish the club successfully.”

For students who are seeking a new, or maybe another, club to join, Vail shares what the Engineering Club entails. 

“We invite both practicing and teaching engineers to speak and show their life’s work. We’ve just launched our first internal competition: designing and building a rubber band-powered glider,” Vail said, “This hands-on challenge walks students through the engineering process and shows how these principles apply in real life.”

The Engineer Club may have just started out at Bellefonte High, but with a promising future and engaging activities, the club may sky-rocket to become one of the most popular at Bellefonte.