InTouch president Sofia Castellanos reports that InTouch had many successes during the 2022-2023 school year despite the club being handed to her in bad shape.  

   She says that the start of the year for InTouch was very rough, because InTouch went from being one of the most active clubs to being almost forgotten. This year was very different compared to the one before. “It didn’t go expected nor as well, but I tried my best to get the club going again as it was given to me basically destroyed,” Sofia said. 

   One major challenge that InTouch faced was finding ways to engage with and educate students on mental health since many students were not interested in the topic. That’s one of the main reasons InTouch does many activities during lunch where all students are available.  

   Despite this challenge, Sofia is pleased that InTouch received a lot of interaction with all students within Miami High. InTouch has had multiple lunch activities where the officers interacted with the students. Their most recent lunch activity was an anti-bullying pledge where they teamed up with the Best Buddies club, a club that allows students with and without intellectual and development disabilities to form friendships together, for Autism Awareness Month. In this activity students were able to sign a paper that pledged to stand up to bullying. Sofia said, “We made sure everyone felt included.” 

   Sofia recognizes Mia Olivero, InTouch’s 2nd VP, who made sure she went above and beyond and did other duties. “Whether it was helping the historians with ideas or simply helping me when I had my mental blocks,” she said. Also recognized was head historian Robert Ramirez and 1st VP Salana Hill. Sofia said anytime she needed a banner done Robert took charge and made sure to have it done nicely; she also said Robert gave her help on how to guide the club and officers. Sofia shares that it was Salana who encouraged her to run for InTouch president. “She encouraged me to strive for greatness and make the club what it once used to be,” Sofia said. 

   Sofia would also like to give a huge thanks to member Reyneris Henriquez, who always showed up to meetings no matter how big or small it was. 

   InTouch will be having an end-of-year mental health fair for all students, on May 30th by the fountain during both lunches. InTouch will also be active over the summer with officer socials, working on banners, and planning future events. 

   For the 2023-2024 school year, InTouch has special plans for new shirts since this year shirts weren’t sold. InTouch will also be doing their annual rock painting social and incorporating more lunch time activities.