By J1 Reporter Maddie Groff

With Walk-A-Thon (WAT) being one of Marian High School’s biggest fundraisers, it raises the question: what motivates the students to donate so much money? Although a slew of various prizes and privileges are offered throughout the fundraiser, like a skip-the-line pass at lunch, the infamous WAT parking spot, and BOSS points, the following proved to be the most influential incentives: peer pressure and avoiding having to walk the far route.

 WAT, taking place on Sept. 24, proved to be successful with the school exceeding their original goal of $95,000. Upon various interviews with students from each grade level, peer pressure arose as the most significant motivation. Senior Danielle Schlader claims that she feels “obligated to bring in money by her classmates”, which is her biggest reason for donating. 

Reagan Dreibelbis is a sophomore at Marian and transferred there after her freshman year. She follows this trend by stating that “she wasn’t used to WAT” and wanted to bring in some money because she “didn’t want to disappoint [her] class.”

Freshman Aurora Ness said that her “friends were counting on [her]” and wanted to help support the cause.

However, junior Payton Kincaid had a different reasoning. She said her “biggest motivation would be not having to walk as far” because she likes to be able to walk with her upperclassmen friends.

Whatever the motivation, teachers recognize the drive that the students have to raise money. Ms. Susie Sisson’s senior homeroom raised more money this year than any other. When asked how she motivates her students to raise money, Ms. Sisson voiced that the students actually motivated themselves. The class officers within the homeroom had a lot of “enthusiasm that motivated others around them” and “set the tone for the group.” They took their leadership roles very seriously, and it clearly paid off. 

Positive peer pressure proved to be a major motivating factor for the students to raise money for 2021 WAT, and will most likely continue to drive the students in future years, as well.