The Freshman Walk happens annually, an event to help fundraise for a new organization every year and to bring the freshman class together one more time.
The peer leaders chose Connor’s Kindness Project as their organization to donate to this year. The money goal was $17,000 for the class to reach. Connor’s Kindness Project is an organization started originally to help kids during the COVID-19 pandemic. They started creating care packages and have kept going ever since.
One of the peer leaders, junior Soren Scarpaci, said the walk is a great way to spend one of the last days of school.
“It gives us free time with friends, a good field day, a time to relax, and a great way to celebrate the end of the year,” said Scarpaci.
Another incoming peer leader, sophomore Evan Silvano, loves the message that the walk gives to the students.
“It’s a great opportunity to help and be a part of a greater cause and have fun with it. Connor’s Kindness Project is a very important cause and I’m glad we picked it this year. We have raised more than $16,000 and people don’t realize how huge that is. The only way from here is up,” said Silvano.
Although it is a great cause, getting the students to donate can take some persuasion.
“I think it’s tough because there are always so many different fundraising events going on via sports and other extracurriculars. We really try to hit home that we are doing good and this money will go to, in this case, kids that they’ll never meet and their days will be better, so I hope that that hits and strikes a chord for students,” said Kelsen. “I think that the celebration aspect of it really pushes the students to donate, but I would hope that it’s the idea of helping someone that they’ll never even meet.”
When Kelsen was a student at Masco, he also participated in the walk as a freshman and as a peer leader.
“I think it was a fun time to come together as a class. When I did it we had it in October of my freshman year, so it was kind of exciting to not really know everybody, but still come together as whole group and start to see familiar faces and new faces in a relaxed, laid back environment while spending a day together and just team bond,” said Kelsen.
The tradition of the annual walk happened for years until the pandemic began. It was never brought back until Kelsen was the one to do so.
“I think the walk itself is a great reason why we do peer leading at the school. It’s all about helping each other, building community, doing what’s right, and the walk in it of itself is that, but we extend beyond the walls of Masco and we look to our community and see – how can we help others? I think the walk is a great opportunity to show students that – yes – it’s great to work with each other and help each other in school, but there’s a whole other world outside of Masco that, hopefully, we can start to extend and reach out to our community more and more and do good,” said Kelsen.
The walk is an important part of bringing the Masco community together, but there are different parts that make it special.
“I think the first most important part is the introduction of the organization that first day. We try to choose organizations that people don’t even know exist, and they are often very local and their great opportunities to volunteer time outside the walk, so I think spreading awareness for that organization that year is tremendously important. Then I think the actual walk itself is super important because we’re walking in solidarity with that organization, and we’re making a statement through the walk, through the town of Topsfield, that we support this cause and I think it’s great when people can come together to show support for something in common,” said Kelsen.
The walk and cause is special for not just the students, peer leaders, the organization, or the teachers, but it is the school coming together as a whole to support something to make a difference every year.