“C’mon, guys, let’s go out and make some friends!” senior Emma Willadsen shouted, clapping her hands together and dispersing her board members.
As the president of Student Ambassadors, Willadsen organizes community events designed to bring students together, from Bingo to Lunch Bunches. On Oct. 30, the program hosted their annual Pumpkin Painting Palooza, bringing over 20 students together to compete head-to-head. With an assortment of snacks, paint colors, and Solo cups holding water at their disposable, students chose groups of their own to help them design pumpkins according to a broad contest theme of Halloween.

For PTSA member Rebecca Floyd, who has supervised the event for the past two years, the best part is watching students’ creativity at work.
“The pumpkin painting is my favorite [event of the year]. I just love how artistic and talented these kids are,” Floyd said.
From various styles of ghosts to a Pennywise-themed pumpkin, students used their previous knowledge of Halloween and horror films to enhance their submissions. Junior Samika Unnithan joined the event for the first time this year, and she chose to paint Jack Skellington’s silhouette from The Nightmare Before Christmas.
“[Since it’s my first year] I thought each of us would have a solo pumpkin, but I think it’s more fun in teams,” Unnithan said. “It’s relaxing, but it still feels like you’re decorating the community.”
Unnithan teamed up with junior Solimar Servin, who has been in the Student Ambassadors program since her freshman year. Looking back on the program, Servin remembers its integral role in her own friendships.

“I joined as a freshman because I didn’t know as many people as I do now,” Servin said. “My favorite memories are hanging out with old friends, making new friends…[just] everyone having fun.”
Willadsen echoes Servin’s sentiments, citing the program’s greater purpose as her motivations as president.
“[Although] I first joined because I heard that I could get volunteer hours, I pretty quickly [realized] this is something that is going to matter to so many people, and it makes me really happy to be a part of that,” Willadsen said.
The event was originally scheduled for Oct. 9, but complications due to Hurricane MIlton pushed it back. The program also faced budget cuts that forced them to rely on willing donors instead of buying supplies themselves.
“It’s all about volunteers,” Floyd said. “Aldi’s…donated pumpkins and food, it just warms my heart.”
After an hour, the challenge came to an end, with students casting votes for their favorite pumpkin. Servin and Unnithan’s pumpkin ended up placing first out of ten pumpkins.
“I mean, I hoped to win it, [but it’s more about] doing something together, bonding and building connections,” Servin said.