Summer Belongs to Stevefest!

Christine Wu ’25 in News | September 23, 2022

This past Saturday, the Stephens House hosted this year’s End of Summer Festival, led by House President Malia Zovich ’24 and Social Representative Grace Chu ’24. The festival consisted of an inflatable obstacle course, soccer pit, and Gaga Ball pit, as well as setups for spikeball, volleyball, and cornhole. 
The idea of a school-wide social event first originated during this past Spring Term, when Zovich was elected as Stephens House President. Zovich noted that unlike the Stanley House or the McClellan House, which hosted Club Stan and the McLovin’ Dance respectively, Stephens didn’t have a signature social event. After many long nights thinking of an event that would boost Stephens’ name in the school community, Zovich came up with the perfect idea—a festival hosted by the Stephens House with food and music to kick off the school year! 
The planning process began in the summer, when Zovich and Chu got in contact with Director of Student Life Ian August to discuss and organize the initiative. Most of the details of the event were confirmed within the first week of school. Bearing in mind many of their friends’ fondness of slushies, Zovich and Chu decided to set up a Rita’s Ice booth at the festival. Zovich also highlighted the amount of effort that August put into the event, remarking that “without [August’s] attention to details and handling of logistics, the event would not have been possible.” Chu thanked Head of House Nicole Lantz and Assistant Head of House Veronica McMahon for their support, who helped make “the planning process smooth and enjoyable.” 
Fellow Stephens House member Frances Brooks ’25 expressed admiration for Zovich and Chu, who “worked hard behind the scenes to put the event together.” Marlow Mellquist ’25 added that she and others in the House were eager to sign up for shifts to help out and pull their weight for the festival’s execution. 
Whether it be Zovich, Chu, August, or any Stephens members, everyone involved in the festival had their hard work come to fruition. Attendees across campus had only positive reviews of the festival. Although she was not an “active participant in the Gaga pit,” Clementine Sutter ’25 had a great time “watching the action from afar.” Anthony Sapp Guadarrama ’25 “had a blast at the outdoor volleyball court,” where he was “graced with the opportunity to play volleyball for the first time since coming to Lawrenceville.” Sapp Guadarrama loved seeing the community in a space together; he even went so far as to labeling the festival as “lit.”
The Stephens House also received wonderful feedback for the festival. Nico Garza ’26 commended Stephens for being the first House to organize a school-wide social event: “It really made Stephens stand out [amongst] other Houses.” After thanking organizers for a joyous evening, Sapp Guadarrama commented, “We need more Houses like Stephens.”