A loud buzzing sound cut through the air around Cypress Field as two drones soared high above the hum of other clubs.
Founded by seniors Tyler Barber, Israel Ramos-Williams and Tristan Maksad, the Drone Club was created during the pandemic to give students a way to socialize and have fun amidst social distancing. The club meets during X-block and holds virtual meetings outside of school hours. It is open to anyone interested in flying, constructing and taking photos using drones.
Barber said he enjoys the club’s meetings because they offer a unique change of scenery from an ordinary day of school.
“It’s nice to take a break from schoolwork to come out here and fly drones,” Barber said. “You learn a lot of different facets of people that you wouldn’t understand in a classroom.”
One of the main issues the founders of the Drone Club are facing lies in keeping the club alive after they graduate. In their senior year, they have focused their attention on recruiting new members to take on leadership responsibilities.
Maksad encouraged current freshmen to join the club, which he said is very welcoming and lighthearted.
“We try to build a very open, positive community and we’re not restrictive of anybody,” Maksad said. “Flying drones is always fun no matter who you are.”
Using Maksad as an example, Barber said even if students are unfamiliar with drones, they might discover an unknown interest after joining the club.
“[During] freshman year, Tristan didn’t like drones. I got him into it, but over the years he’s really ‘taken off,’” Barber said. “Droning is very broad, and Tristan found that he is really big on the coding part. It’s nice to see him finding passion in it.”
While there have been drone clubs before, they died out after their founders graduated. Barber and Ramos-Williams hope this will not happen to theirs.
“We hope that this club at least stays somewhat active because we really wanted to build something that would stay,” Ramos-Williams said. “Our main thing is trying to have people who continue this after we go to college.”
To ensure that the club leaders pass on their passion for drones, Barber and his co-founders plan to create a rental system within the library before they leave.
“When we went to the library freshman year or sophomore year, they had a drone that students could rent, but it was broken,” Barber said. “Even if this club doesn’t survive, maybe in the future a student with the same idea will go into the library and find drones that they can use to start their own,”
While Ramos-Williams’ time at the high school is almost up, he said he will always enjoy the activity the club has introduced him to.
“I have a drone at home which I like taking out for a spin and feeling the open air,” Ramos-Williams said. “You can’t get up there by yourself, but your drone can fly anywhere and take pictures of things that might be out of your reach. That’s just priceless.”
