The Founding Feathers, a group of innovative students from Mr. Hertrick’s AP Lang class last year, recently opened the “Nest,” a furnished “senior lounge” in the first floor of the Holmes Building where students can make coffee, relax between classes, and study.  It was a “proactive” senior gift (given before the year began), which is a first in Saint Stephen’s history.  The Founding Feathers, made up of Logan Tallman, Henry Wallace, MaryAnn Placheril, Alana Shukovsky, Indre Zalepuga, Emma Jones, Trevor Donnelly, Lauren McLean, Lane Barnes, and Lindsay Leskinen, were able to convince the administration to implement the senior lounge in September.

Logan Tallman explained the Founding Feathers’ original concept for the Nest: “A student lounge in a large, central space, preferably with access to a kitchen. That’s why we proposed the boardroom, first.”

While unable to obtain permission to use the the boardroom, the Founding Feathers found a spot for the Nest across from the lunch loggia. It has quickly became one of the most popular areas for seniors to relax. Seniors can be spotted there in the morning, at study hall, and even during lunch. Some have proudly said that this will become the best class gift in history. But other class donations in recent years have some former students willing to argue that fact.

In 2015, the senior class installed water-bottle refilling stations in the Upper School. These machines sped up the process at the water fountain ten-fold, cutting down on people waiting in line behind students slowly filling up. Filling up a bottle from a normal fountain spigot takes on average 30 seconds, but the filling station takes less than 10. Our stations have already been put to good use, with one station already having filled 20,882 water bottles (according to the station’s digital counting meter).  The gift has significantly cut the school’s impact on the environment by reducing plastic water bottle use.

Last year, during the graduation ceremony in May of 2016, the senior class donated a holding tank for the Marine Science Building. This holding tank will allow students to bring an wildlife back for a few hours to study,  and then release the organisms back into McLewis Bayou. However, the holding tank has not been built yet. In its place is a big, blue, plastic tub that has a sheet of paper announcing, “Fish Tank: Under Construction.” While we don’t have an exact date of when the tank will be completed, Ms. Misiewicz has stated that it will be used for the first time by the end of this year.  The reason for the delay is to ensure that an electrical pump connecting the McLewis Bayou can supply freshwater for the tank.

The Nest, on the other hand, has found immediate use. The Keurig coffee machine was an amazing addition, providing free coffee to tons of over-studied seniors. The chairs may not be the most comfortable, but they allow people to sit and peacefully study. Crowds of people fill the lounge during every lunch, benefiting every class by creating extra space in the lunch loggia. People may come in early in the morning and study, while others may socialize.

The senior gift is an embodiment of the class and a testament to the time that they spent at Saint Stephen’s. It is not only supposed to be creative, but also must serve the purpose of benefiting future falcons. Even though the class of 2016’s holding tank is not completed, it still shows how the class was able to come up with an out-of-the-box idea.  Additionally the class of 2015’s water bottle refilling stations have had a huge impact.

Senior Trevor Donnelly said, “I believe a senior gift is a legacy that a class leaves with the school. When kids look around Saint Stephen’s, they see what has been left by the students before them, and that’s a truly special thing.”

As a senior myself, I hope that the Nest goes down as the most creative, useful gift in Falcon history.