Features

    Harry Potter week is one of the most anticipated events at St. Scholastica every year. From October 14th - 18th, students enjoyed a week full of magic. From house sorting, herbology, bingo, and a magician, the week held many exciting events. 

     Owen, who is a junior, enjoyed his first ever planning of Harry Potter week! 

     How is your first year of planning Harry Potter week going? 

     “It is a lot more work than I originally anticipated! For example, I was tasked with making and hanging up the keys for the tunnel on the ground floor of Tower Hall. I thought that this project would consist of roughly two hours prep and one hour hanging up. On Sunday, the day we decorated, I was rudely awakened when I was told it took half an hour to make five keys. Luckily, we had a lot of volunteers from Admissions that came and assisted us in making the keys while another handful of us hung them up. There is a lot of support in Student Activities, especially during our week long events, which really makes the planning and execution processes a lot easier.”

     What has been the most challenging in prepping for Harry Potter week? 

     “I think one of the most difficult parts of planning Harry Potter Week is estimating how many folks are going to show up for the events. My event in particular, potion making, is a relatively new event that didn’t have any numbers we could look back on. This kind of means that I had to guess how many people would show up and order my supplies based on that guess. In this case, I ordered supplies for 200 people to ensure that we had enough. The nice thing about Student Activities is that if we have a surplus of supplies, we can always plan another event with whatever is left over. We just store it in our supplies closet and start the planning process again.” 

     What specific events or activities are you most excited about for Harry Potter Week?

     “I might be biased but I am really excited for potion making [the event that I planned]. This is both because I’m looking forward to seeing how many people show up to gauge how successful the event is and because I love room spray, especially when I don’t have to go out and buy it! I’m also excited to watch the magician. I’ve heard he is really good and again, it’s free so I’m not paying anything to watch the show.” 

     What does Harry Potter mean to you personally? (Did you grow up reading the books, watching the movies, etc...)

     “Honestly, I don’t really have a personal investment in Harry Potter. It wasn’t until my freshman year during Harry Potter week that I started watching the movies. Obviously, I saw clips and parts of the movies but I never sat down to watch them all the way through. Although I am not a big Harry Potter fan, I really enjoy the week because it engages the community and gives students fun activities to do. There is so much satisfaction in watching a group of friends/students come to the events and listening to them talk about how much fun they are having.”

     The week was overall a success, not in just celebrating Harry Potter week, but fostering a sense of community among students. As Owen and his team wrapped up this year's Harry Potter week, they can look forward to the planning of next year's events.