The New Dealer had a lovely interview with FDR’s new Activities Coordinator, Mr. Meyers! The role of Activities Coordinator is a new one that started this year at FDR. In a short span of time, Mr. Meyers has quickly become a very active member of the FDR community. In this interview, we discussed his new role and responsibilities at FDR.

The New Dealer: What are some of your responsibilities as the student activities coordinator?

Mr. Meyers: I am an Activities Coordinator, which is a little different from a Student Activities Coordinator. My role as the Activities Coordinator is to create fun, cultural activities in the school, that celebrate our diversity at FDR. I want to include as many students as possible. These activities are meant to be cool or interesting things, that can both highlight and showcase our diverse student body. One of the key elements of this position is organizing the activities, so that they are done during the school day.

The New Dealer: One thing about these activities, that I am confident many students would like to know is, how are they are decided?

Mr. Meyers: We already celebrated Hispanic Heritage month with two events about Hispanic heritage. Regarding how we go about deciding what activities to do, I sit down with the Coordinator of Student Activities, Ms. Perez, and we discuss what the student body wants or is interested in. We constantly try to piggyback ideas off of each other, to find what we can do that the students will be interested in. Along with that, something I look at, is having some sort of celebration every month. For example, the month of October has so many celebrations like, Indigenous Peoples’ Day and Breast Cancer Awareness. No one celebration is more important than the other. We also take a look at the student population to see what is a celebration or activity, they would gravitate towards. 

The New Dealer: That all sounds great! My next question is what was the decision behind creating this new role of Activities Coordinator for the 2021-2022 school year?

Mr. Meyers: The role was made to raise school spirit, make students feel proud to be a part of the FDR community, as well as to celebrate the different cultures of our students. We wanted to raise the idea that not one person is cut from the same cloth, and we should honor and acknowledge that. FDR is really an amazing and diverse school.

The New Dealer: You are 100% correct, FDR has so many people from all over the world. The school is a highly diverse place. It is important they are represented in the school.

Mr. Meyers: As much as possible!

The New Dealer: Alright, now we are on to what I think is a bit more of a difficult question. That is, how are you navigating the planning of these activities around Covid-19, since it limits so many things that you can do?

Mr. Meyers: It does, it really does limit so much. That is one of the hurdles I have been facing this past month and a half. I wanna to be able to do these various activities, but we have to be aware of and worry about the safety protocols in regard to Covid-19. Right now we are starting off small with low-key activities. We had a student town hall last month and music trivia as well. Another trivia is coming soon as well. For right now we are looking for activities that are not physical in nature. Right now we really can’t have any physical activities, until later on when things get better, and we get the green light on being able to do these activities. Currently, there is a lot of red tape that we have to consider in terms of these activities. No activities, that we are doing, have too much student energy or anything really physical for now. Like I said, hopefully, that will change in the future.

The New Dealer: OK, I think this next question leads into something that you mentioned previously about activities being during the school day. What are some steps being taken to make sure these activities are accessible to all at FDR?

Mr. Meyers: Well we are making it so most activities will be during the major lunch periods, 4, 5, 6, and 8th periods. I think this is a great idea for students who want to get involved, but usually can’t after school, due to various outside responsibilities. Since I’m a former student at FDR, I try to picture myself having all these activities to do during the day, in my lunch period, where I would have otherwise just sat in the cafeteria all period doing nothing. After eating a quick lunch, students would be able to go and participate in an activity. I try to think of my job almost like a cruise director of activities, with how I can engage people in the activities. I would definitely love to do something physical outside in the courtyard or the campus, to make it even more open and accessible.We have various limitations like too many people being in too close a proximity. It would be more engaging if we could have activities outside the auditorium.

The New Dealer: Now, the last question I have for you is, are there any upcoming activities you can give the student of FDR a sneak peek of?

Mr. Meyers: Look forward to giving thanks in November, spreading cheer in December, and mindfulness in January. Those will be the themes around various activities. Besides that, Ms. Perez, Ms. Katz, and I are going to have a meeting and discuss future activities, so stay tuned to the announcements!

I’d like to say that Mr. Meyers was a pleasure to speak to. He really cares for the FDR community, and represents as many people in it, as he can. I, and so many other students, appreciate what he has done so far. He seems genuinely interested in everything he does, as Activities Coordinator, and I am excited to see what he does next!