THE BEAR Vol. 42, Issue 3, January 2021
FACTS
Ursuline Academy of Dallas
theuabearfacts.com
Snowball: Recapping the Senior Tradition By EMMA KENCHEL ‘22
The class of 2022 has finally marked off the beloved tradition “Snowball” from their checklist. Marking the end of the first semester, Snowball is traditionally the most popular Ursuline dance because it is
created just for the Senior class and their date. Senior Savannah Johnson said, “This has been my favorite Ursuline dance because there were no underclassmen, which made it easier to bond and hang out with my friends. Snowball allowed the senior class to just have fun together even in the midst of all the college stress we have been under.” Because Snowball is such a special tradition, the seniors usually begin discussing dresses, dates and tables as soon as homecoming ends. But the biggest conversation of all is about the queen and court. The tradition of the walnut started in 1950 when each senior was given a cupcake that was either empty or filled with a walnut or pecan. There was only one walnut whose choice would declare a queen, and three pecans which would declare members of court. This year’s Snowball queen was Cecilia Stanford. The girls in court were Natalie Marina, Callie Lavalle and Maddy Wilbert. “When I went up there, I decided to get chocolate because I thought it would taste the best, but as soon as I picked it up, I realized it felt sort of heavy,” Natalie Marina ’22 said. “Then it was time to open it, and I squeezed it and felt a pecan, but I was shocked and confused because I couldn’t tell the difference between
the pecan and walnut. Everyone was telling me it was the walnut until Cecilia held the walnut up and that’s when I knew it was actually just a pecan. I was so happy for Cecilia because I knew she would come up with a way better dance than I ever would.” Two and half weeks later Snowball was here, and while the rest of the school had “Christmas fun day,” the senior class had the day off. Seniors had the day off to prepare for the big night by getting their hair, nails and makeup done. There was a plethora of different dresses ranging from Stephanie Untermeyer’s beautiful ballgown dress, to Nicole Gossage’s silky chic dress. On top of all the dresses, there were many different types of shoes worn with the elegant dresses such as Air Jordans, stilettos and even cowboy boots. Addie O’Connor ’22 said, “I was embracing my Texas heritage as a true Texan woman. Plus, I am always down for a bootscootin’ boogie. I love a good dancing shoe, and I knew that cowboy boots would give me that.” Upon arrival to the dance which was held at the Omni Hotel in Downtown Dallas, the seniors and their dates took the elevator up to the third floor, where they were greeted by Dr. Shirley, Mrs. Kane and Mr. Lepley. They shook their hands and introduced their dates to the adults. Emily Askew ’22 described the greeting as welcoming. She said, “I mean, I really was not all that nervous, but my date Ryan was sweating. He kept asking me their names over and over again, and I would tell him to relax, but that just made him more nervous.” After the greeting, the se-
niors had the opportunity to talk with Mr. Biggs and Mr. Gregory as they conducted a red-carpet interview for the senior and her date. “Mr. Biggs made up personal questions based on who he was interviewing. He talked about the dresses and gave the boys a curveball by asking what their favorite trait was about us. It was so funny because it took my date completely by surprise, so he gave the most random answer,” said Savannah Johnson. After checking in and doing the optional interview, the girls and their dates were given time to hang out with each other and take pictures at the photobooth. Addie O’Connor ’22 said, “The photobooth pictures were so much fun and turned out so well because of the ring light. Even
though it was an iPad taking the photos, they looked really professional, and we were able to fit a bunch of people into one picture.” After the girls had time to mingle, dinner was served. There was a nice house salad served as a starter along with a variety of different types of bread rolls. Next, for the entrée, a gluten free pecan crusted chicken was served alongside mashed potatoes, carrots, and green beans. Lastly for dessert, a slice of red velvet cake appeared. Senior Isabella Kruse said, “The food was good, but the cake was easily the best part. The cake was moist, and the frosting
was so creamy. It was some of the best cake I have ever had.” After dinner, student body president Emma Louviere alongside Lia Padian started the dancing by running up on the dance floor when the “Cha Cha Slide” by DJ Casper came on. Everyone else began filing onto the dance floor and within minutes there was an instant mosh pit with people even crowd surfing. Nicole Gossage’s date Landon Usry was the ultimate dance star when he started crowd surfing. “It happened very fast. I was dancing and all of a sudden I was floating above all my classmates,” Usry said. “I guess if there was a word to describe the experience it’s something between frightening and electric.” An hour or so into the dancing, the floor was cleared for the best part of the night: the crowning of Snowball Queen and Court. Mr. Gregory announced each girl along with a short bio about her and her favorite memories of Ursuline. Next, it was Cecilia’s time to shine in her duet with her date Cristian Cavazos. “I wasn’t really nervous at all because we saw each other almost every other day during the week leading up to Snowball,” Cecilia said. “He is also one of my best friends, so it was comfortable and manageable. But right before we went on, we were both really excited especially because everyone was sharing their excitement with us. My heart was beating so fast, though, but I had a lot of fun, and it was so worth it.” Although there was no snow, the class of 2022 had a ball at their dance and are now looking forward to their final semester at Ursuline!