By Maire Crooks, The Current Co-Editor in Chief
River Hill’s third annual Hawk Flock night took place on October 2nd. This event, sponsored by River Hill Boosters, featured a selection of the school’s wide variety of extracurricular offerings and food trucks to make it a night to remember.
Various veteran River Hill clubs participated, such as the Blue Room Breakers, Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA), Black Leadership Union (BLU), and Spanish Honor Society (SHH).
Shruti Vadlakonda, River Hill senior and SHH President, mentioned that even though the honor society has participated for many years, “We had a lot of curious underclassmen stop by and parents as well; many people didn’t know a Spanish honor society existed, and it was positively received.”
Newer clubs used the night as a chance to put their name on the map and recruit new members. Some notable participants were the Climbing Club, Donation for Recreation, and the History Day and Policy club. Senior Jacob Nezu ran the climbing club booth and thought the reception from students was excellent. “We had a poster with information on it and we had a little grip strength tester… people compared their grip strength to [professional] climbers and then got candy.”
Many River Hill students and parents eagerly attended the evening, excited to see what organizations their school has to offer and grab a bite to eat from the food trucks. “People were having fun, I think,” Jacob articulates. “I was having fun, even though I lost the grip strength competitions.”
On the club side, Shruti claims that the turnout was encouraging: “Many people stopped by the booth and asked questions about the club and our sponsor was there as well which attracted a lot of adults/parents.”
Food trucks featured were the Koshary, Bullhead Pit Beef, Mike’s Gelato, Kona Ice and Blowfish Poke. A variety of menu items were offered, such as pulled brisket sandwiches, pumpkin spice gelato, falafel, and more. Lines for the trucks spanned the high school parking lot, the Bullhead Pit Beef truck seeming to be the most popular. Despite the popularity, some students still opted to not purchase the meal offerings. “It was too expensive,” Jacob explained. He, like others, went to McDonalds and Chick-Fil-A.
Others, however, did not stop by Hawk Flock. Senior ChaeWon Cheon said she “had a lot of work,” which consisted of “mostly college apps… right now my schoolwork is manageable but with the addition of college apps it is getting a little stressful.” She was grateful to spend the night getting work done, but was a little sad to “miss all the wonderful club stands.”
As for what could be improved, Shruti says, “I would definitely plan more in advance in getting current members involved in the running of the event by taking up shifts and/or making food for the event to boost club participation and engagement.” With the night being close to the beginning of the school year, it is sometimes difficult to get organization up-and-running again in time to have maximum member participation.
Overall, the River Hill community enjoyed the anticipated event and looks forward to Hawk Flock in the coming years.