Finals Breakfast experience as a VIP
On Wednesday, Dec 6, at 10 p.m., Metz and MC Student Affairs hosted the semesterly Finals Breakfast in Pearsons Hall. This special tradition is eagerly anticipated by students, who enjoy the unique experience of being served by their favorite professors and staff. I had heard about the Finals Breakfast well before I moved onto Maryville’s campus this fall.
When promotions for the event began on Nov 28, MC Student Affairs announced a giveaway for the first-ever “Finals Breakfast VIP Experience”. The winner would receive early access to the event, VIP badges and a reserved table for a few guests.
To enter, students were instructed to follow the Student Affairs Instagram account, share the event flyer on their story and tag friends in the comments. Every friend tagged counted as an additional entry. Like many of my peers, I tagged several friends in the comments, but I didn’t think much of it. There were almost one thousand comments, and I knew I would have fun at the event regardless.
I was genuinely shocked when I learned that I was the winner. Arriving about 20 minutes ahead of the event, I made my way directly to the front of Pearson’s, where they announced my name on the microphone. I’m not sure my face has ever been that red before.
Overhearing rumors from upperclassmen, I knew to anticipate a big crowd, but I had severely underestimated how many people were actually going to be there. The line backed up to the Center of Campus Ministry.
To keep everyone entertained, Student Affairs hosted “The Line Up”, a “pre-breakfast energizer”, on Pearsons Lawn. It included music, raffles and other giveaways. After this ended at 9:45, my four guests and I were allowed to enter the dining hall. We were greeted with applause from the staff.
All I had been told about our reserved table was “You’ll know it when you see it.” That was truly the understatement of the century. In the far corner of Pearsons Dining Hall, we saw a table with a black tablecloth, gold silverware, plastic champagne flutes of orange juice, balloons, pastries, cloth napkins and gift bags.
We got our food at the buffet and took our seats. The table was then covered in plates of hash browns, biscuits and gravy, waffles with strawberries and whipped cream, french toast sticks, sausage, bacon and eggs. The food would have been great any time of the day, but the general consensus at our table was that breakfast definitely tastes better at 10 p.m. Throughout the meal, several staff members came to check on us and clear empty dishes.
As other students started to enter, the decibel count probably increased by 1,000%. Throughout the rest of the evening, there were random karaoke sessions and rounds of applause, conversations with new people and an overall humorous atmosphere. All in all, the Finals Breakfast was an enjoyable experience for everyone.