Photo by Addy Rock

Senior Gigi Zawislak sings ‘When I Was Your Man’ at the winter Coffeehouse on Dec. 22. The crowd was amazed and created a sea of stars with their flashlights during her preformance.

Coffeehouse is a talent show fundraiser put on by the National Honor Society (NHS). It is one of the many fundraisers they put on throughout the year. NHS stages two Coffeehouse shows a year, one in the winter, and one in the spring. This year’s winter shows were at 6 and 8 p.m. on Dec. 22. They consisted of 13 acts, which went through an audition process.

There were a variety of performances such as bands, soloists, duets and dance numbers. Both shows had large crowds gathered in the auditorium to see these acts display their talents. The event is a popular draw for parents, families, and students, both present and past. Many graduated students who were in Coffeehouse in previous years like to come back and watch the performances on their winter break.

This year, the emcees for the winter show were senior Meredith Christensen and junior Aidan Uglem, while other NHS students helped ensure the show was a success. This is the second Coffeehouse show Uglem has been part of. He joined NHS as a sophomore and was part of last year’s spring show. Uglem and Christensen are both officers for NHS and have worked on past fundraisers together. 

“I chose Coffeehouse because I went in the spring last year and it was a really cool event, and I thought it would be fun to do again,” Uglem said. “I’m friends with Meredith and she was already signed up to volunteer so I thought it would be fun to do it with her.”

NHS selects a different cause for each show to donate the proceeds to. They donate to nearby community centers, foundations, nonprofits and more. The NHS officers have meetings every couple of weeks to prepare for NHS events and membership meetings. At the meetings, they choose what cause(s) they want to donate the proceeds of the event to. This year, they selected Morgan’s Message as the beneficiary for the Winter Coffeehouse and raised around $2,000.

Christensen explained NHS selected Morgan’s Message because of the recent chapter started and the work they have done to help student athletes with their mental health.

Morgan’s Message is a non-profit organization that advocates for student athletes mental health and works to create a platform supporting student athletes. Their main message is, “You are more than an athlete.” 

Morgan’s Message has an education program (MMEP) that supports students and motivates them to become leaders and advocate mental health for students at their schools and in their communities. MMEP works with volunteer student athletes (ambassadors) at high schools, colleges and universities throughout 45 states in the US, as well as Canada and England. The program is growing and has around 4,500 ambassadors which spread across 1,500 campuses. There are currently six college campuses in Minnesota with a chapter, two of which are the University of St. Thomas and Hamline University.

SAHS is one of many high schools with a chapter. There are currently five ambassadors and around 30 members. The SAHS chapter is made up of students from several sports with the highest number of members being on the girls’ lacrosse or girls’ soccer team. Senior Myah Kruger is one of the ambassadors and helped launch the start of this chapter. Kruger is a senior captain of the girls’ lacrosse team and works alongside her fellow teammates as an ambassador. 

“Me and the other ambassadors will run activities and meetings. We have a meeting once a month, on Monday mornings. So far, we have made bracelets, posters and had one dedication game so far. The ambassador’s hand made shirts for the girls’ volleyball team to wear for warmups,” Kruger said. “We focus on making it a safe and comfortable space for people to talk and get help if needed.” 

“There’s a stigma around mental health and opening up your emotions when something is hard. We just want to make a safe space for students to come and know that it’s okay to struggle. People think that if you’re an athlete, you’re supposed to be tough and everything, but everybody goes through stuff,” Kruger said.