Operation Snowball (OS), a consistently popular club at Schaumburg High School (SHS), has begun preparations for its massive annual event, much to the excitement of the current OS leaders.
Schaumburg High School offers many extracurricular activities, just like thousands of other high schools across America. Operation Snowball garners a high level of excitement every year from students and SHS staff members alike.
In short, Operation Snowball provides participants with an opportunity to spend a Saturday in February at SHS, to put aside their cellular devices, and fully engage with their peers. During the day, more than 100 participants are split into groups to complete team building exercises, games, and unlock the “Secret of Snowball”.
While participants do not attend any sort of meetings before the actual OS event, there are meetings throughout the year for OS Student Staff Members.
These students are selected by the OS Sponsor Brent Swolsky through an application process in the spring, following the annual OS event.
“The actual club itself is essentially run by students and is designed for students. We have 30 wonderful student leaders who help guide participants through their Snowball experience. This allows participants to feel comfortable quicker, because the group’s leaders are their peers,” Swolsky said.
In the springtime following the annual OS event, Swolsky opens up an application process for current participants to become future student leaders. Sophomore Emmett Gunsteen has been through this process already and was selected to lead this year after being a participant at last year’s event.
“I think everyone should apply for a leadership position if they had a great time at our OS event. If accepted, then they [the student applying] can have a positive impact on OS for the next year,” Gunsteen said.
According to Gunsteen, there’s more to being a leader than meets the eye, primarily stemming from what he has learned at the many training sessions that the club hosts for student leaders to sharpen their skills.
“The most important part of being a leader is being able to foster a positive experience for the participants. The training sessions have helped me to improve my leadership skills by teaching me to lead with compassion and use effective facilitation techniques,” Gunsteen said.
Swolsky shared one of the many reasons why he believes that OS is important for all students participating and working the event as student staff members.
“I think the key purpose of OS is for participants to meet new people and establish core connections within the OS community. Students can be put into a group with students they’ve never met and then leave with incredible, trusting connections that were constructed during the day of OS. I think that is really amazing that students, when given the opportunity, can put aside distractions and truly get to know one another,” Swolsky said.
OS Student Director Bella Brenzinger shared her thoughts on what makes OS special at SHS.
“While there are other clubs that promote a healthy and positive teen lifestyle, OS is the only club that has an entire day dedicated to this topic. Additionally, OS is the one and only club that has only one meeting for participants… and it always is the best day of the year,” Brenzinger said.
OS is highly regarded by those who have already been a participant as a rite of passage, in the sense that one must attend the actual event to truly understand the high level of enthusiasm that comes with being a part of OS at SHS.
“Anyone who wants to learn more about OS should stop by our [Operation Snowball’s] ice cream social on January 27 after school in the cafeteria. The ice cream social will give anyone interested in OS free ice cream and all the registration information needed for this year’s Operation Snowball event,” Brenzinger said.