“Walking into the room, the final room, [we were] thinking we’re probably second or third,” said freshman Jordan Liu after an hour of tirelessly running up and down the daunting six flights of stairs of Townsend Harris to figure out their next destination during the freshman scavenger hunt. “It was the biggest shock [that we were the first to get there], and we were all really happy.”
The annual Freshmen Scavenger Hunt, held on February 7, included a variety of new activities for the class of 2028, such as a three-legged race, karaoke, puzzles, ring toss, and trivia. Each group racked their brains to compete for the grand prize: a $50 gift card.
After the event was pushed back from its original date, active advertisement through Instagram two weeks before the event led more freshmen to be aware of the scavenger hunt and attend.
Participants in small groups raced to complete activities in order to acquire clues. These clues consisted of riddles that referred to specific floors or rooms in Townsend Harris for their next station. For instance, Jordan said the clue “where language and arts come to light” led them to the fourth floor.
“I really enjoyed the scavenger hunt,” said Jordan. “The prize was amazing, but it was not just about the prize. I had a good time with my friends.”
The planning process, organized by the Freshmen Grade Leaders and Freshmen-Sophomore Class Co-Presidents Aki Benjamin and Jordana Lo, wasn’t so simple.
“It took us about a month to a month and a half to plan, similar to last year. [The freshmen grade leaders] split themselves up into groups and made plans for each station while another group of highly motivated grade leaders also decided to make the clues,” said Aki.
Although similar to the process from last year, this year’s planning process had some small changes implemented by Aki and Jordana.
Compared to last year’s scavenger hunt, there were stricter rules implemented in response to complaints about participants misunderstanding the clues and going to the wrong locations from last year’s event. The event was also smaller in size. Jordana said that this was partially intentional. “We wanted to help the grade leaders find their own paths to leadership by giving them a calmer event to start with,” she said.
While cautions were taken to prevent confusion, some students did say they had trouble with some of the clues, including an algebra problem that would’ve led to the final room number.
To ensure the success of future events organized by the Class of 2028, freshman grade leader Jacey Jin said, “This experience was unique to me since it was the first event that l attended and personally [helped] organize as a grade leader. I was very grateful to be able to work with such a hardworking group of people.”
Another freshman grade leader, Siddhini Singh, said, “I feel like it was a big success. Everyone was kind of unsure of how it would turn out, but when everyone was running through the halls and being silly and having fun, it was really nice [to see].
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