Three tables of ice cream sandwiches and sausage subs set out by Paresky Commons were the latest of several special meal events Paresky has hosted this year. Students crowded in front of Paresky, reaching to grab a bite on their way to their next class.
Karen VanAvery, Director of Food Service, described the event as a “customer appreciation event,” held annually by Paresky Commons. She stated that the event doubled as a way to show gratitude and collect feedback.
“We do this because we genuinely value the relationships we have with the community at Phillips Academy. It’s our way of saying thank you for their trust and loyalty. Plus, it’s a great opportunity to connect face-to-face, gather feedback, and show everyone how much we care about their satisfaction,” wrote VanAvery in an email to The Phillipian.
Mercy Okoronkwo ’27 highlighted how she enjoyed the event as it coincided with warmer weather. She mentioned how the delicious food paired with music brought people outside to socialize and spend time with their peers.
“It was a good event, it was convenient because it was hot outside. I think it was enjoyable with the music and food, it really brought people outside together, and it was nice being out there and being able to talk to my friends… More music and ice cream on really hot days [would be good],” said Okoronkwo.
According to Sophie Liang ’26, the event was a great way to temporarily shift from the typical routine of eating inside, but Liang noted that the majority of the food was gone by the start of sixth period lunch. She suggested that the selection for Paresky Commons meals could have included more engagement from the students.
“It was a nice change from just eating inside [Paresky] Commons… Especially in Spring Term, everyone’s looking for reasons to be outside on days with nice weather… [Also,] I think this happens with all [Paresky] Commons meals, but by the time sixth lunch comes around, there’s just less food, and especially since lunch was hosted outside, I know people would walk by in free periods and take some food. By the time it got to sixth lunch, which is my lunch, some of the stuff was out… I know we’ve had a lot of Cluster dinners where the Cluster council gets to decide what food is served at Paresky Commons, it would be cool if there was some more community input in what [Paresky] Commons serves as well,” said Liang.
Sebastian Vermut ’27 commented on how his dietary restrictions restricted him from being able to eat a lot of the food that the Paresky event offered. Vermut expressed hope that future Paresky events will keep in mind food restrictions with more choices so that all students can enjoy the food offered.
“As a vegetarian, if there were more options like vegetarian options, it would’ve been more inclusive to people [with dietary restrictions]. But overall they did a great job running the event, getting enough food for so many people… I think similar events and celebrating different cultures by offering food of different cultures would be nice. If they had a ramen day or if they had different days with stands like that, [it] would make a lot of people’s day better,” said Vermut.
Ozochi Onunaku ’25 stressed how the event was a means for students to unwind and have fun during a stressful week of midterms. He voiced his appreciation for Paresky’s effort in helping students get through tough weeks and expressed his desire for future events.
“It provided a sense of relaxation and wellness especially in the period of midterms… it gave a sense of peacefulness, the opportunity to socialize with other peers, and eat some really delicious food from [Paresky] Commons… I think the fact that it is a more surprising event that many students did not expect or anticipate allowed it to be a bit more wholesome and it makes people more appreciative of the event… I’d say [Paresky] Commons has really good events in which they choose a popular dish or drink to serve en masse to students during stressful times… So all of these fun and delicious events that [are] distributed in streamline through [Paresky] Commons is a really good initiative that [Paresky] Commons should continue further into the future,” said Onunaku.
