In previous years, the Future Gen Club has seen better days at Oviedo High School. The original purpose of the now-disbanded club was to bring all kinds of students together to discuss different topics and problems influencing students in the community and school with adults. The club ultimately broke up during the spring of the 2023-2024 school year.

Recently, there has been talk of a revival of Future Gen. Tori Baer, who has taken on the role of club president, is excited about the new version of the once-lively club. However, Baer was never a member of the original club.

“Funny enough I’ve actually never been a part of future gen,” Baer said.

Baer first became interested in the club this year and asked the former sponsor how to get involved. The former sponsor gave a disappointing answer: the club had split up due to low attendance.

The former president of the club, Colin Gibbons, now a senior, was a part of the club from freshman orientation, all the way to his junior year. He was one of the last remaining members of the club.

“I think that it’s really important for the youth of our nation to have the opportunity to talk to the people in charge and have the opportunity to be heard and see an impact,” Colin said. “A lot of the time it’s us asking the people in power questions, but what Future Gen did was it provided the opportunity for those in power to ask us questions.”

This quality is exactly what made Future Gen so appealing to so many. The club was an opportunity to make student voices heard, voices who didn’t know how to express their grievances or approval for a certain topic.

Baer says the plan is to create a new space with a similar appeal but in a new and relevant way. “We’re trying to figure out how to approach the needs of a student body in a different way, with a bunch of different people that come from different backgrounds,” Baer said.

A welcoming atmosphere is also a new goal for the club. “I think in order for people to want to be there, I think part of it is also about not having that negative of an energy,” Baer continues, “I think of course, we have issues, but we also have to ask what we do about those issues?”

Former member of Future Gen, Nancy Ellias also found this quality appealing. “It created a safe space for people to share their frustrations about whatever’s happening,” Ellias said.

She had joined the club during her freshman year. Even in her younger years, Future Gen provided a unique way for her to make her voice heard throughout the school.

“Not even just frustrations, but just to talk freely about our opinions without being scared that we would be judged,” Ellias said.

A big focus of the new Future Gen will be this idea of free expression and of course, the idea to solve problems. But this time Future Gen will be considering worldwide problems, as well as issues within the school and community in the past and present.

But Future Gen isn’t just interested in discussing the issues that plague our lives daily, getting out and taking action is another goal for the club in the upcoming school year.

“Because you can’t just sit there and complain, you have to figure out what you got to do, how you’re gonna move forward,” Baer said, showing the new focus on action for Future Gen.

Gibbons and Baer encourage aspiring members of the club to think about what they want to accomplish with their time in the returning club. “when you join Future Gen think of it as being part of something bigger,” Gibbons said.

Though Future Gen’s role has changed in the school, it still has a place among the other impactful clubs. Future Gen will continue to be impactful, throughout all of its changes and pursuits. If you are interested in discussing world and community issues, and other discussions about similar topics, Future Gen is the club for you.