During finals week, everyone is tired of studying. Motivation is low and caffeine intake is high. Instead of drinking coffee to stay motivated, Students Prioritizing Awareness, Resilience and Kindness (SPARK) club provided warm hot chocolate, friends, and tutors at their event, fittingly named Cocoa and Cram. About 20 students attended, each with a cup of cocoa in hand and a notebook or worksheet in the other.
Cocoa and Cram was hosted on Jan 14 in the student union as a promotional event for the club with a focus on helping out with the stress of finals week.
SPARK club found this as one of the ways to follow through with their club values.
The mental health club meets on Thursdays in Room 324 to discuss mental health awareness and events like Cocoa and Cram.
SPARK club secretary, Gabrielle Pruitt (12), attended the event to both oversee the studying and study herself.
“It gave [people] that extra time to prepare and study for finals, but also getting help provided if you need it.” Pruitt said.
Cocoa and Cram gave students more motivation than just studying at home, which is particularly helpful during finals week. Many students went as a way to stay relaxed while also paying attention to their finals.
“[Cocoa and Cram] was a positive space and environment for us to help students with studying and mental health,” Pruitt said.
Audra Francis, a science teacher and a cocoa and cram tutor, agreed that it greatly helped students cram for finals.
“[The students] enjoyed it,” Francis said. “We had a good number of kids stay for the majority of the time, and I think that out of our kids that stayed, they did get quite a bit done.”
She believes that Cocoa and Cram did help enforce the goal of SPARK club. Francis could see the students being focused and happy, while also having treats and spending time with their friends.
“I think that that work can look different for different students, and students got a lot of academic work and studying done, but a majority also was helped with more of the mental health aspects, which was awesome to see,” Francis said.
Francis, being a teacher, understood how stressful finals week is for most students, even with mental health supports like SPARK.
“It’s hard to be prepared,” Francis said. “But that’s kind of the fun of it, too. You just never know what you’re gonna get. But honestly, I think it went really well, it was just a blast.”
In addition to studying, there were also events such as rock painting to keep students engaged and productive. This setup helped students to use the Pomodoro method, which involves taking breaks often to stay focused while studying.
“It’s the nerdy kind of fun. But I think that everybody in general had a good experience, which is really important.” Francis said.
