The Muslim Student Association (MSA) is a relatively well-known club throughout different schools not only in Cypress, but other districts throughout the nation. Being a newer school compared to the many others in CFISD, Bridgeland High School’s Muslim Student Association is finally making their big break.
Junior and senior presidents of MSA, Zohaib Shiekh and Faizan Khan, talk about the efforts it took to bring the club back and what inspired them to revive the organization.
“We did not exactly start the club ourselves, but more so revived it,” Sheikh said. “Our main goal when rebooting the club was to make it more active and interactive.”
Khan describes how the club went through a rocky start in the beginning with the lack of members and difficulties advertising the club. However, with team effort they successfully spread the word about MSA and kept their audience interested with interactive events and volunteer opportunities.
“In the 2022-2023 year, the entirety of MSA was a blank slate,” Khan said. “We essentially had to run our first few meetings with no clue as to how we could keep members engaged, yet informed.”
Khan emphasizes the wonders of effective communication and marketing skills, as these were imperative in reviving the club.
“Undoubtedly, the most efficacious mediums of communication are the announcements and word of mouth,” Khan said. “Our main forms of advertisement have been our Remind, our Instagram, flyers in the cafeteria, a slide on the lunch presentation and club fair at Bear Necessities.”
Recently, the success of this club is seen by various members joining and responding to the effective measures of marketing displayed by the officer team. Khan and Shiekh also talk about their goals moving forward with the club and how to make sure it stays relevant.
“We aim to establish a platform for individuals to connect and foster relationships within their local community,” Sheikh said. “We have many new ideas that we plan to introduce to the club this year, with a couple major ones being the creation of clothing items and attending the Muslim Interscholastic Tournament.”
MSA is on its path to be one of the biggest clubs in the district and already has become so by the amount of members they receive in socials and events.
“Our biggest successes to date have been our service events in which members can volunteer at carnivals and special seminars at local mosques,” Khan said. “Such events grant our members privileges like free access to food vendors, events and more.”
The presidents also mention the inspiration behind rebooting the club and what motivates them to keep going even when things get challenging.
“Personally, my biggest supporter has been my sister who founded the club in 2020,” Sheikh said. “[For the club itself] our biggest supporters have been members from other Muslim Student Associations in our area.”
Finally, Khan and Shiekh talk about the future of the club after the senior officer graduates. They emphasize the importance of having a good officer system and the importance of trust.
“Our co-presidency system seems to be a great transition of power from the senior president, who was the previous year’s junior president, to the junior president, who applied for the position like everyone else and was chosen based of his/her merit,” Khan said. “We’re in great shape for this year and beyond.”
