This year’s Battle of the Classes (BOTC) was won by the first years! And who lead them to victory? President of the first year class, Brendan Mizok!
Her Campus Chatham: What made you want to study at Chatham?
Brendan Mizok: Through my endless conversation with admissions, I was assured that Chatham that was a place where I could be instrumental in making a difference. Additionally, being that Chatham is a historic women’s college, I wanted to be in a place where the influence of strong women was very apparent. I was raised by women and I know first-hand that their impact on the lives of young people is of superior merit.
HC: What are you studying?
BM: I am studying English.
HC: What made you want to run for CSG?
BM: I desired to be a leader in my class because many changes are occurring here on campus and positive student government leadership is necessary in order for those changes to transpire smoothly and effectively.
HC: Did you think you were going to win BOTC?
BM: I had doubts before the volleyball game began. The class of 2020 had the smallest team (only five people, not even a full team!) out of all of the classes. The atmosphere before the game started was slightly discouraging because everyone knew we were the underdogs and were making us aware of that fact. Once the game began, I knew the first-years were a force to be reckoned with because the team was so passionate and worked so well together. We ended up winning 1st place. This became a theme for our class during the rest of BOTC. Our participation was low, but our passion was indubitably high.
HC: Can you tell us a bit about what your class did for each challenge?
BM: Our class theme was the 80s’s. For the window painting challenge, we did a rendering of The Breakfast Club’s movie poster. Each character had black and white Rachel Carson faces (this was done to mirror the typical images we see of Rachel here on campus). The tag line was “She came to Chatham and changed it forever.” We won 1st in that competition. For the mystery event, which was a Chopped-style cooking competition, three insanely impressive members of the first-year class, Lauren Calandra, Robin Heller, and Claire Wozniak, made three dishes out of odd ingredients such as lychee berries, slim jims, and hard-boiled quail eggs. We received 2nd place. In the song contest, we did a (fabulous) mash-up of several 80’s songs. We again received 2nd place.
HC: How did you celebrate?
BM: We celebrated by ordering three King Kong pizzas from Larry and Carol’s. They were triple the size of an average pizza, and they made my life okay again. The BOTC participants and our friends gathered in the Carriage House and celebrated righteously.