Servathon to Serve a Ton

Peter Kim

For most of us, September 22, 2017 was a normal day at school.

For the Class of 2019, however, it was the official beginning of their Junior Class Experience—the Servathon, the day the Junior Class spends doing community service, often in the form of hard work.

While the rest of high school dragged themselves sluggishly to A-Block, the juniors frolicked their way to the buses, bubbling with sheer excitement over two things: getting to skip school for the day and having the opportunity to spend time with their friends the entire day. This year, the juniors had to spruce up the neighborhood playgrounds and parks in the community of Tanjung Tokong.

Carrying various cleaning supplies, ranging from steel-bristled brushes to bottles of bleach, the juniors loaded up into buses, making their way to their Servathon sites divided into groups, each in charge of one playground.

The war against mosquitoes was another part of the Servathon experience. Since it had been raining for the past few days, swarms of mosquitoes helped themselves to young, energetic blood of the diligent students.

 About two hours into their Servathon, the skies darkened and the weather turned for the worse: it began pouring rain on the entire island of Penang. Scurrying for cover, the juniors found themselves in a conundrum, unable to continue with their work, save for a few brave souls and sponsors who were willing to get soaking wet, as Elizabeth Kilgo (11) recounted, commending Mrs. Steinkamp and Mrs. Penland for their self-sacrifice.

The rain soon let off as soon as lunchtime rolled around, giving the juniors a brief respite and time to catch up with their friends on what they did, some of them even boasting about their progress in their work. They headed for Tesco, where they could sit comfortably and munch on a few fries and a burger in McDonald’s or settle for a piping hot, hearty dish of sizzling noodles and fried rice.

Accompanied by the intermittent rain, the juniors persevered through their first fundraiser of the year and returned to campus, faces smudged with dirt and paint splattered on their shirts and pants. Sarah Lee (11) described her working conditions without a hitch by saying, “Seeing the finished results of our hard work after working in the rain filled with mud, mosquitoes, and moss was really meaningful.”

Upon returning, Mandy Lim (11) stated, satisfied with her work, “I think it was a really great opportunity to serve the Penang community because I've lived in Penang all my life, so it warms my heart to see how happy the children at the playground were when they saw us repairing it.”

“Though rain or shine, we serve,” En Min Saw (11) proclaimed confidently with a glint in her eyes.

And that concluded the Servathon: scraping paint off railings, cleaning dirt out of stone benches, and repainting playgrounds—the Juniors certainly had completed a great list of chores for the community.