This article was written by Halle Varney. She wrote it as a junior at Potsdam Central High School in the Potsdam Central School District, while serving as secretary of the school's Positivity Project (P2) club and the new chair of its finals week Hospitality Room. Halle has lived in Potsdam her whole life and has been involved with P2 since eighth grade.
The Positivity Project (P2) Hospitality Room is a way students have been able to help their peers through their week of finals at the end of each school year. High schoolers will often have time before or in between exams where they’re left to wait in the hallways. Often, stressing about their performance. With free bagels, cookies, donuts, and coffee, the Hospitality Room can bring a little brightness to their day and ease some of their worries.
Our first Hospitality Room was held in the cafeteria of Potsdam Central High School in June of 2019. The Positivity Club at our school reached out to nearby businesses that were incredibly generous and donated dozens of sweet treats and bagels. We had teachers, students, and other staff members stopping in all day to say hello and grab refreshments. People from all grades were sitting at the tables studying together, laughing, talking and were able to decompress during their most stressful days.
The Hospitality room was launched by P2 alumni and recipient of the P2 Senior Scholarship, Katie Jane Seymour. She thought of it as a way to help her peers and worked hard to make it happen. She graduated in the spring of 2021, and our club is determined to carry on her idea for many years to come.
As the new chair of this project, I love P2 because it is all about finding ways to help others. The Hospitality Room is a perfect example of how small acts of kindness can help people through their hard times and stressful days. I look forward to working with my fellow P2 members to make finals week as fun and comforting as a finals week can be.
