Freshman wake up is a long standing tradition to welcome the newest Student Council members with a morning filled with costumes, games and an empowering StuCo spirit. It is a memorable morning where the freshmen are woken up by the upperclassmen. Creating a bond between all the grades in StuCo.
The day cannot be possible without the initial freshmen who are excited to join the Student Council.
Freshman Anna Stanion, who was elected last Friday, wanted to join in order to be very involved at Mill Valley.
“I wanted to be a part of Mill Valley, have a good experience, and help people to have a good experience,” Stanion said.
As soon as the freshmen are elected, the StuCo executive board has a few tasks to prepare for the morning.
Senior class president Mallory Lux helped manage and prepare for the event, including communicating with the parents of the incoming freshman. “The biggest challenge was the night before the event. Stella [Beins] and I had to text all the freshmen’s parents individually to ask permission for us to come pick them up the next morning,” Lux said. “We had a very short time frame in terms of the parents responding to us in time.”The day starts with all of the student council splitting up into groups. Each group then goes to the houses of the freshmen they have been assigned.Once they arrive at the freshmen’s houses, they complete the wake up surprise. Freshman Kate Nguyen appreciated the enthusiasm of the morning.“They came into my room with flashlights and screamed ‘good morning,’ then turned on the lights,” Nguyen said. ““It made me feel more confident, because everyone was really welcoming.”
As soon as they are woken up, everyone is given a special costume In order to make the morning special and lively. For Holick, this was one of his favorite parts of the morning.
“I loved my costume, I had a pink cowboy hat and a pink scarf. It was really cool,” Holick said.
Afterward, all the members meet up on the football field to play games. They usually participate in a relay race, followed by other fun challenges to promote team bonding.
For Stanion, the games allowed her to feel more welcome within StuCo.
“The games where you could do your best and be yourself, and no one would judge you for who you are,” Stanion said.
For upperclassmen the event is just as significant. For Lux, it felt like a full circle moment.
“I remember getting woken up my freshmen year and how fun it was, Lux said. “It’s crazy to think that this is my last year of StuCo and that I was the one planning the wake up this year.”
