After school on December 16, the Freshmen and Sophomore Grade Leaders set up for the annual Freshmen Scavenger Hunt, an opportunity for the freshmen class to familiarize themselves with their new community in a competitive and engaging manner. Over 150 freshmen participated in the hunt and were divided into small groups that would each go on to work together, competing for the first place prize of a gift card. 

In this year’s hunt, the participants made their way around the school, stopping in several locations, including the auditorium, courtyard, fifth floor hallway, and sixth floor hallway to complete puzzles and collect trinkets. Once a group finished collecting all of their trinkets, they made their way to the cafeteria, where each member of the group was rewarded with a Class of 2026 T-shirt and a slice of pizza. 

“My favorite part was how we got to keep the trinkets after each clue,” said freshman Vaibhvi Patel.

First place winner freshman Micheal Amuyev said that his favorite part of the event was “going after every clue and working together with [his] friends.” 

Along with the freshmen grade leaders, Freshman-Sophomore President Jasmyn Pillay helped plan this event. “Attending these events is always fun, but very rarely do you stop and think about what goes on behind the scenes. Planning this event was far from what I anticipated it would be,” Jasmyn said.

“This was the first time the hunt took place in person as opposed to online and so I wanted it to be [as] perfect as possible,” said Jasmyn. “I’m forever grateful for my freshmen grade leaders for keeping me sane and pulling through when I was needed the most. Their creativity was the heart of the hunt.”

When asked about potential areas of growth, Freshman Grade Leader Maimuna Kader, who helped with arranging the event, said that the cooperation from both Grade Leaders and the participants could have been better. “All in all, it was a hectic, yet enjoyable experience,” said Maimuna.

Photo courtesy of Classic Photography