The events that have been held this academic year have been some of the most successful events held at Hamline in a long time. The  Build-a-Pal event hosted by HUPB was no different. 

The “Build-a-Pal” was held in Anderson 111/112 on  March 22 at 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. With every table full of cute ‘pals’, or stuffed animals, to build, it was hard to resist coming to the event.

The great turn out was well deserved with this event being put together with lots of work and effort. As the head organizer, senior Hannah Notebaart went through a long process arranging this event. 

 “I had to decide early on what I wanted to do because purchasing materials, booking an event space in Anderson and ordering catering has to be done a while in advance,” Notebaart said. 

But Notebaart did not have to do this alone. According to Notebaart, this event was extremely successful. 

“All I really hope for is that people have a good time and everything goes smoothly, and thankfully that was exactly what happened,” she said. 

Notebaart said her favorite moment was watching people’s faces. 

“They got so excited and it really made me feel good about my ideas and how they came to life. Seeing their reactions means that all my hard work paid off.”

Senior Austin Malberg, who is the “Development and Outreach Coordinator” with HUPB, was by Notebaart’s side throughout to help the event run smoothly. Like Notebaart, Malberg also loved seeing the students’ excited reactions. 

“[It] makes me really happy thinking that this animal they created hopefully gives them a piece of home in their dorm room or apartment and just makes their day a bit brighter,” Malberg said.

This event was successful among attendees as well. Alumni Cati Varichak stated that they had “fun sitting there having good food and chatting about what [they’d] name [their]pals.”  

Throughout the fun they had, they also made great memories.

“I figured out there were little stars that go inside at the ‘hearts’ of the animals after I had closed the inside pouch, so I had to gut my pal and do open heart surgery,” Varichak said.

This wasn’t Varichak’s first rodeo when it comes to the “Build-a-pal” event and being mentioned in The Oracle. They recall their attendance last year and states “I attended this event last school year, I was also in the Oracle for the pictures. I made a candi thong for my buddy Racoon and the picture made it in.”

This event has been, and continues to be, successful at Hamline and creates memories that students will take with them. The “Build-a-Pal” event is definitely one to remember.