Andrew Connolly/ Staff Writer
Club Day took place the first two weeks of this semester at Bergen Community College and I decided to go and ask a few clubs some questions. I talked to two clubs, the first being the Aviation Club, and ended up speaking with the club’s president, Hector De La Cruz, to get answers.
The club began as a way to give students an opportunity for internships, to help school funding here at BCC, and a way for students to become more knowledgeable about aviation.
While De La Cruz didn’t start the club, he has been an active member of the club for the past three years, and the president for the last two years.
One of the questions I had for the club president was if he was planning on using the skills he learned with this club and decide to work with aviation in his future career. De La Cruz is going to keep pursuing aviation after Bergen, and plans to become a pilot in the Marine Corps. The club will only benefit De La Cruz on his journey as he aspires to become a Marine.
What first caught my eye about the club was their flight simulator. At first glance, I believed it was a real video of an actual plane in flight only to find out that it was in fact a simulation. De La Cruz told me the simulator was FAA approved and used to help train Marine Corps pilots before taking the air. There is some top flight technology here at Bergen.
Next I talked to the Athletics Department. They aren’t technically a club but I saw a lot of students going to their table to sign up for sports, so I decided to talk to the person behind the table, assistant athletic director and Bergen alumni, Elaine Korinko.
Korinko tells me that students seem to be interested in sports at the school. However, the men seem to express a stronger interest all around in getting involved in sports than the women here at Bergen.
The sports here at Bergen follow guidelines of the National Junior College Athletic Association, or NJCAA that are similar to the NCAA’s standards, but are a bit less restrictive. However, Bergen has more strict grade policies for athletes than some NCAA Division 1 schools.
Bergen’s competition consists of other community colleges, but during preseason training they get the opportunity to test themselves against Division 1 schools, where, according to Korinko, the Bergen athletes hold their own. After talking with Korinko, it was clear to me that Bergen Community College’s sports are taken seriously, and expected to be competitive each year.
Overall, club day was a successful day as many new and returning students got the chance to sign up for clubs that they found interesting.
Comments are closed.