By J1 Reporter Ruthie Barrett

Walk-A-Thon (WAT) is arguably one of the most important events at Marian. For upperclassmen who have experienced one before, this month is another walk in the park. But for freshmen, this is not the case. 

Some freshmen come in not knowing anything about Walk-A-Thon and the other half have some idea of what it entails. The first month of freshman year is a hard adjustment and with the addition of Walk-A-Thon on top of that, it can get quite overwhelming.

The freshman class goal was $25,410. “It felt like a lot of money to raise,” freshman Reese Eggers said. It was “scary and intimidating!”

As a freshman, raising money can be difficult without any class officers to help organize. Upperclassmen have that advantage, but the freshman class moderators do assist the class as much as they can.  

Eggers and her friends, Maeve Filipi and Rowan Wilson took some leadership to help the class. Eggers organized a gift card raffle and Filipi and Wilson planned a pool party to help meet the class goal. “Although there were only 11 girls there, I still had a lot of fun,” Filipi said. 

But the vote was unanimous that the bake sale was their favorite way to raise money because everyone got to be part of it. Their bake sale was on Sept. 23 and it raised more than $1,700. 

Although WAT can be a stressful time, it also helps to unify the class and for these new students, that could not be more true. “We were all forced to work together and I think that forced some girls to take on leadership roles,” freshman Alivia Pecklo said. 

“It helped us bond and we are all hopeful for Field Day because we have a drive to do better than we did in WAT,” Wilson said. 

Walk-A-Thon results remain a mystery until the actual day of the walk. Although the girls were not surprised by a fourth place finish, Reese said she was, “glad they went over their goal.” The freshmen began their 4-mile trek in the neighborhood north of Marian’s campus and to pass the time, they listened to music and talked to their friends.              

After a 4-mile walk, they were excited to experience their first WAT after party. “I really enjoyed the dunk tank and hanging out with my friends,” Wilson said.  Her friends mentioned how they were all really tired and wanted to take a nap. 

This year’s Walk-A-Thon was successful with all of the grades going over their goal and the school getting 120 percent of their goal. All the money the students raised will go to tuition assistance, so more girls get the opportunity to attend Marian.