by Priya Cheema and Jessica McGrail
The Senior Friendsgiving event, held Nov. 19, was hosted by Minarets parents Aaren Berube-Rodrigues, Sara Pillsbury, Rhonda Corippo, Kelli Reeves, and George and Gini Cummings. This event, which was held at three different locations, gave seniors a chance to see one another once again.
The first location was at the Yosemite Lakes Park Clubhouse where seniors could go through a“drive-thru” to collect their own pizza. They then proceeded to park together and enjoy dinner. After some music and entertainment, the seniors took off to Fresno where they each received a half dozen doughnuts Similar to the clubhouse, they drove through to receive their doughnuts and then parked to enjoy each other’s company and their delicious treats. After some prizes and fun, students drove back up Highway 41 to Tesoro Viejo where they gathered around the patio at Axis Coffee Bar + Eatery to finish off the evening. There, they were able to choose a free drink from the Minarets Senior menu.
Seniors offered a lot of positive feedback about the event. Senior Shelby Graff stated that “It turned out super well” and “It was super nice to be able to see each other again.” It was such a good experience for Graff that she thinks, “Something like this should be done again.”
There was also favorable feedback from the parents as well. Senior parent Aaren Berube-Rodrigues, one of the event’s coordinators, said, “There is a strong group of parents that are invested in seeing that the class of 2021 seniors have as many experiences as possible. It took a few weeks of coordinating and picking locations and getting donations to allow this to be a free event.” She also explained how they kept social distancing among the students. “We asked that students wear masks and we handled the food distribution through vehicle pick up while wearing gloves. We had kids maintain social distancing during the final pick up at Axis and sit outside.”
The class of 2021 would like to thank everyone who helped with the event, like parents Aaren Berube-Rodrigues, Sara Pillsbury, Rhonda Corippo, Kelli Reeves, and George and Gini Cummings. A thank you is also owed to everyone who sponsored the event, David and Marty Pol from Yosemite Grill, Valley Air Conditioning and Repair, and Axis Coffee and Eatery!