Community Council hosted a Winter-Gram station during lunch on the Quad where students wrote and read aloud notes for people they are thankful for on Dec. 2. The event originally started as turkey grams for Thanksgiving, but the rain forced Community Council to postpone it and make it holiday-themed instead.
Community Council member William Lin ’26 said the event underwent several revisions prior to taking place, but he was pleasantly surprised by the turnout.
“Our original plan was for [Rael Kreiz ’26] to pick a few letters at random and read them so we could film the reactions and post them on the Community Council Instagram,” Lin said. “What we did not expect was how many students would actually participate, especially since the Quad hasn’t had much foot traffic lately. However, thanks to a genius idea from [Angela Ren ’26], we grabbed a mic and speaker and turned the whole thing into an open reading session.”
Lin said every single letter was read aloud, creating a welcoming energy on the Quad.
“The energy completely shifted, and everyone around us seemed to be having a genuinely good time,” Lin said. “The random readings ended up being the perfect way to lift people’s spirits, especially since some of the Grams were genuinely hilarious. I am a senior, so I will not be around to see it continue, but I really hope next year’s Community Council members will bring this tradition back.”
Kreiz said he enjoyed dressing up as Santa and felt good getting lots of students to participate in the event.
“It felt lighthearted, and people seemed to enjoy hearing me read the cards,” Kreiz said. “I was getting lots of requests to read specific ones and seeing people react made me feel like the event was accomplishing exactly what it was meant to do. I think what made it so successful was that it was a silly event that encouraged kindness. Also, it had a good balance of being something people can enjoy without going too far out of their way.”
Haley Romano ’27 said she wrote a note to her friend, Joanna Xia ’27, telling her that she appreciates her and is glad that Xia is in her life.
“I feel like I really connected with [Xia] because usually you don’t go up to your friend and tell them you love or are grateful for them,” Romano said.“Writing this letter gave me a reason and opportunity to tell her that, and made me recognize that we should appreciate our friends more.”
Nicholas Sue ’27 also wrote a letter of appreciation to his friend and said he enjoyed the event .
“I really liked writing a WinterGram,” Sue said. “It was very fun and a good way to express my gratitude. I would do it again next year because I would like to shout out other people too.”
