National Honor Society’s Big Event is a Spooky Success

National Honor Society held their annual scavenger hunt around Greendale, the Big Event, last Saturday.

This year, the Big Event was given a makeover.  While in past years, the scavenger hunt has been a bike race all over Greendale, Franklin, and Greenfield, this year it was contained to GHS or the village so students who don’t have a bike or don’t like to ride their bike were still able to participate.  They could pick and choose which locations they wanted to go to.  Additionally, at most locations, participants had to do an activity, rather than just take a picture.

“My favorite part about the Big Event was having to run around and doing the tasks,” junior Yvett Sanchez said.

Students participate in the Big Event in teams of 3, 4, or 5.  After they complete a task, they send a picture or a video to the NHS officers through an app called Goosechase or through text.  The officers see the submissions in real time, and the points are directly awarded through the app or added by the officers.  The team with the highest point total wins.

This year, the winning team was called “The Goons.”  It was made up of juniors Andrew Lynch, Robert Yaccarino, and Austin Sabbar.  This was the first Big Event since 2014 that the team with senior Jack McGee didn’t come out on top.

“At first I wasn’t expecting to win or even do that good, but once my friends and I started to complete more and more tasks we started to get competitive and we tried to win,” Yaccarino said.  “My favorite part was probably just being with my friends and having fun with them while trying to complete all the random tasks. I also enjoyed the random tasks sent by text because they were  more challenging than the regular tasks.”

After all the teams returned and the winner was announced, all participants voted on the best costume.  Entries could be of individuals or team costumes.  The award went to the team of juniors Jane Gozdowiak, Rachel Maciejewski, and Lauren Greenberg who dressed up as rock, paper, and scissors.

“I’m glad my group’s hard work was recognized,” Gozdowiak said.

Finally, students were able to relax and enjoy lunch from Jimmy John’s after running around all morning.

“My favorite part of the big event was sitting down at the end and eating subs,” Lynch said.  “I was tired from running around all morning and it was fun to eat and socialize.”

The main purpose of the Big Event students are asked to collect pledges for a local charity to participate.  The charity that will be receiving the donation this year is Camp Kesem, a summer camp that provides the opportunity to participate in a summer camp to kids whose parents have recently been diagnosed with cancer.

“We raised a good amount of money for Camp Kesem and had fun in the process,” NHS Co-Adviser Michelle Brody said.

Most of this year’s participants want to encourage others to participate in future Big Events.

“Students should participate in future Big Events because you get food, you can hang with friends, and it’s supporting a good cause,” Sanchez said.

Yaccarino agrees.

“I think that the Big Event was a fun way of getting NHS hours and was a different way of volunteering. It was a fun time and I would do it again,” he said.

Overall, the Big Event went well.

“I feel like the event went well.  This year was more Halloween-themed so participants got to dress up – complete with a costume contest,” Brody said.  Participants were troopers in the chilly weather and did an awesome job completing their ‘scavenger hunt’ tasks.  It’s an excellent way to get together and raise money for an excellent cause.”

NHS Senior Officer Cecilia Brozynski agrees that the event was a success.

“The Big Event was super fun and spooky and it was great to raise money for an awesome cause,” she said.