Senior Class Reps Hold First Senior Grill
By SOPHIE JAFFER, ELLEN JIN, CHLOE LIND, and MEGHAN TATE ZEE
On Tuesday, Oct. 22, after 9 p.m., seniors gathered together in the Elizabeth Phillips Academy Center while enjoying various pastries, snacks, and hot chocolate. This, however, was not an average Tuesday, but the exciting first Senior Grill of the year.
Senior Grill is a highly anticipated event that many students look forward to experiencing during their time as lowerclassmen. It is a time to unwind, socialize with friends, and enjoy snacks specially made for the seniors. The planning and execution of this event are credited to the hard work of the senior class representatives: Ava Helbig, Aveen Burney, and Caspar Bailey.
Although the tradition of Senior Grill is already famous around campus, specific information was sent by email to the entire senior class a few days before the event. Senior class president Ava Helbig explained, “Basically, it’s when seniors come together over food or a chill space just to unwind, relax, detox, and just chat with their friends or mutual people they’re friends with or people they know.”
Senior representative Caspar Bailey added onto the planning process: “We first emailed Mr. Jeffco, the Grill manager, with our dates and times. Next, we put in a catering request for the goods. Finally, we set up in Agora and held the event. We used our Instagram to spread the word.”
Helbig noted the timing of the event, sharing that her goal for the event was to be “something people can just go and grab stuff and then take back to their dorms to work on whatever they need to work on, because we understand that senior fall is a really busy time.”
Still, she said that she was looking forward to “talking to people and seeing how they are doing— finding comfort in the fact that most people have not finished their college apps brings me contentedness knowing that we’re all in this together.”
However, the various baked goods seemed to run out quickly. Senior Sarah Huang described the food choices at the event. “I showed up around nine. They had hot chocolate and a big basket of goldfish. They also had some muffins, but by the time I got there the muffins were basically gone,” she said.
Senior Sophia Jia also commented on the selections available: “[The reps] had mentioned there would be milk and cookies at the event. I showed up about 15 minutes after the event started and I didn’t happen to see any of that.”
Nevertheless, seniors were happy with what the night did offer. Huang said, “I liked that they had a big bucket of goldfish because I got to take a lot and keep them in my room so I’ll have snacks for a while. I’ll probably still go to more in the future just because it’s food and socializing, and getting out of my room.”
“The hot chocolate and catching up with friends was pretty fun,” recalled Bailey.
For many seniors, the Senior Grill event was a much-needed distraction from the college admissions process looming over them. Senior class representative Aveen Burney said, “It was a great time seeing all the seniors come together and take a break from the stressful time.[...]It’s always a blast to talk with everyone and just hang out and chill. I felt very senior!”
Thinking ahead, Helbig remarked, “For future ones, we’re hoping to incorporate more live performances from members of the senior class, kind of like a coffee house vibe, and maybe drinks from D Squared.”
The first Senior Grill was a great event to help seniors come together during stressful times. It gave them the chance to socialize, comfort each other, and enjoy some tasty snacks!
Amélie Hespel / The Exonian