By J1 Reporter Betsy Piernicky

On Sept. 30, Marian students celebrated their donation success with Walk-A-Thon by dunking teachers and administrators in a dunk tank. This year, Marian girls fundraised more than $120,000 for tuition assistance. Students who raised $50 got to vote on who should go into the tank. The day of Walk-A-Thon (WAT), each faculty member let the girls take turns attempting to dunk them by throwing a softball with a 11 inch circumference at a target after the walk. The dunk tank was on display in the Marian drive for all the students to watch. 

     Several teachers were excited for the dunk tank, and some even sported extra accessories. Principal Susie Sullivan and President Michele Ernst both sported Marian swim caps. “It was Mrs. Sullivan’s idea! It was a great idea because we had a meeting later that day and didn’t have time to go home, so the swim caps were fantastic. The girls loved it because we looked like dorks,” Ernst said. 

     Many of the teachers and administrators were very hesitant about going into the dunk tank. The morning was brisk already, with temperatures hovering around 70 degrees. They were not keen on being dunked. Others, like Ernst, were all for it. “I will always say yes to an opportunity that involves something fun that doesn’t cost me anything!  Also, it was good to see how much the students enjoyed seeing us get dunked!” Ernst said. She claims that on a scale of one to 10, she would 10+ out of 10 do it again. 

     Students got to partake in the fun by throwing the balls to dunk the teachers. Any girl could volunteer to throw the ball if they wanted. Madison Terranova, a junior at Marian, dunked many teachers, including physics teacher Mr. Matt Winterboer, and both Sullivan and Ernst twice. “I loved being antagonized by Mr. Winterboer about having a test next class, and then immediately dunking him,” Terranova said. The dunk tank got students excited and had many of them laughing. 

    Student Board was able to rent the dunk tank from a company called Big O Bounce. This company is located in Papillon, and it is the same place we get inflatables for Surprise Day. The tank held approximately 350 gallons of water, and cost Student Board $295 to rent. Senior Nora Corrigan set up the rental of the dunk tank. The Marian community is blessed to have local businesses support them and we are grateful for their help with making WAT successful and fun. 

     This WAT activities were greatly enjoyed by both the students and the teachers. With a dunk tank and a water slide, they got to celebrate their hard-earned success of raising more than $120,000 for tuition assistance.