![Adding a tray of canned corn to the pile, junior Michael Collop assists in transporting donations for the Holiday Food Drive. The event, hosted schoolwide from Dec. 10-17, raised over 5,000 food items to deliver to the Parkway Food Pantry, helping several families in need. [The drive] is a great thing for us to do because you're giving to those who are less fortunate, and it helps provide for people who can't provide for themselves. [The] competition is always fun, too. It was fun to be in [social studies teacher Jess] Chazen’s class, because he always gets worked up over [the competition]. He made it exciting, and was always convincing us to turn in cans for the drive,” Collop said.](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/feature-photo-unsung-2.png)
![NEW CHALLENGE, NEW TEAM MEMBERS: Every season, VEX creates a new game that robotics team members are faced with and have to build a robot to compete in. This year’s game forces students to create a robot that is able to stack rings onto mobile goals in order to score points. The change in games each season is something that robotics teacher Audrea Moyers appreciates.
“One of the things that I like about VEX is that they have a new problem to solve every year,” she said. ¨Even though the equipment’s the same, they have to analyze the game, and they have to come up with solutions that are unique that year. They are using their knowledge from prior years, but they have to kind of redesign a problem.”
As returning teams were faced a new game, some new teams and members had to adapt to a uncommon playing field and game.
“Three of our four teams were competing for the first time this year, and they had very different experiences match to match, so I think they learned a lot,¨ she said. ¨It’s hard just watching a video online to know how it’s actually going to be in person, so they all learned a lot about what gameplay is like, how to work with an alliance partner [and] how to adapt during the day to changes.”](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/IMG_9283-1-1200x800.jpg)
After a long morning of classes, everybody needs a quick and easy pick-me-up. Luckily, senior Eva Spak has you covered with her cookie business, “Eva’s Cookies,” available daily in the student bookstore.
At age 13, peers encouraged Spak to begin selling her baked goods.
“I used to bring cookie cakes to school and people always told me that they were good and that I should sell them,” Spak said. “Then my mom helped me research Texas cottage food laws and figure out how to get a food handlers license so that I could start my business.”
After receiving her food handler license, Spak explored more ways to sell her sweet treats, including an online business via Instagram. In the spring of her eighth-grade year, her mother was selling jewelry in the bookstore, which inspired Spak to expand her business into the bookstore as well.
“I just asked [Miss Dara] if I could sell my cookies, and my cookies were in the bookstore for one week in 2020 and then COVID happened,” Spak said. “I couldn’t get them in again until sophomore year because the bookstore had certain rules about what food they could sell in there.”
After hitting the shelves, the cookies sold out within the first few hours. Dara Williams, the student bookstore manager, collaborated with Spak to create a schedule regarding cookie restocks.
“She brings cookies in on Mondays and Wednesdays,” Williams said. “She brings a big bundle on Monday of about six dozen and then around two or three dozen on Wednesday or Thursday.”
This new restock schedule meant Spak needed to find time in her busy schedule to bake more cookies.
“I do most of my planning on the weekends, but during the week I try to do some baking on Tuesday or Wednesday to refill the bookstore,” Spak said.
The constant availability of cookies has brought a plethora of new and returning customers, and her most sold flavor is chocolate chip.
“They’re always in the bookstore, so when I’m hungry I can just grab one,” senior cookie lover Charlotte Lauten said. “It’s easy and convenient.”
Spak said that she enjoys baking since it gives her a way to take a step back from schoolwork and that she will always find time in her schedule to do so.
“I enjoy [baking] and it feels like a break from homework,” Spak said. “It’s a really good way for me to destress.”
Spak said that the future of “Eva’s Cookies” is bright. She wants to bring her business to college and sell cookies there as well.
Since she is a senior, Spak will not be available to stock the bookstore every week next year but said that she wants to keep her cookies in the bookstore after she graduates.
“My mom has offered to bake and drop off so that’s my backup plan,” Spak said. “I’m also currently talking with some underclassmen who are interested in helping.”
This story was originally published on The Fourcast on December 11, 2023.