Hilltoppers Plunge for a Cause: Special Olympics

Director of Community Service Alissa Davis explained that raising $2000 will support the “travel, hotel, and registration fees necessary to send an athlete to the Special Olympics USA Games.” 

Davis emphasized that while the Penguin Plunge focuses on fundraising, the Special Olympics Dance focuses on community building. The Special Olympics dance, she explained, is an opportunity for Hopkins students to “volunteer, interact and build connections with Special Olympics athletes.” She commented that some people report that “it's the most fun dance they have ever been to” although “they went into it thinking they were just doing a good deed.”

Maroon Key also aims to educate the Hopkins community about Special Olympics. Spanish teacher Alvaro Cerquiera, who worked alongside Davis throughout the fall of this year said that “a really big goal of Maroon Key is just educating our community about what Special Olympics is and why we are raising this money.” Following this goal, Cerquiera noted that the Maroon Key Board is planning for a member from Special Olympics to speak at a Hopkins assembly. The assembly will inform students “about special olympics, how it benefits the athletes and build hype for the events.”

Maroon Key Board members Julianne Gonzalez ’28 and Alex Sukhodolsky ’27 are organizing the Penguin Plunge on February 12th. The Penguin Plunge as Gonzalez explains is “a school-wide pool party” where “people in the school community can donate a minimum of $10 to jump in the Hopkins pool.” Gonzalez said she helps with “organizing someone to speak at assembly, or to make sure that the dates we have set for events work.” Sukhodolsky said that he feels “that it is a subject that is not covered well enough in our community and so I hope that the board's efforts to fundraise and spread awareness can benefit both the charity and Hopkins.” 

Shriya Vaid ’26, Vice President of the Maroon Key Board, and Andrew Keisman ’26, a Maroon Key Board member, expressed their excitement about these events. Keisman said, “I'm the most excited for the Special Olympics Dance because everyone always has a great time, and it's so awesome seeing everyone dancing together.” Vaid agreed, adding that “the dance brings in about 50-100 Special Olympics athletes from all over CT for a night of dance and fun.”

Similarly, Leila Abate ’27 who attended the Polar Plunge last year said that she “found the plunge to be really fun.” Recalling that it allowed for “nice bonding experience with people I normally didn’t interact with.”

Hopkins’ relationship with Special Olympics of Connecticut began in 2024 when a former Hopkins parent, Amber Tencic, reached out to Davis. She also said that the event naturally aligned with the Hopkins’ impactathon theme that year: “our impactathon theme that year was learning about teens with disabilities, so it was a great natural connection.” Since then, the partnership has expanded to include the penguin plunge fundraiser. 

According to Davis, Hopkins' partnership with Special Olympics enables Hopkins students to “redefine our community.” Davis explains that “If you go to the special olympics dance and just have fun, you realize what a great environment it is when we let more people in.”