The stress of preparing for finals can be overwhelming and paralyzing. The added stress of extracurricular activities, home life, and work can make finding time to study for finals seem impossible. Cocoa Cram helps students kickstart their finals studying by creating a space for students to get help from their peers and their teachers on specific subjects. This year’s Cocoa Cram included three separate study areas, each at a different noise level. The West Wing was the quietest, the East Wing was a medium level of noise, and the media center was the loudest. The media center was also where the raffle and cocoa could be found.

Academic Council hosted the event for the third year in a row and strived to make improvements to this year’s Cocoa Cram. These included the noise areas and keeping the hot cocoa in one area unlike in previous years. Maddy Chong, the main coordinator for Cocoa Cram said that, “this year was remedying a lot of past problems and making improvements.” According to Chong, students in Academic Council spent an entire day asking businesses to sponsor the raffle and provide prizes. Chong said “the raffle serves as incentive for students to come and study for finals. Chong believes that students should go to Cocoa Cram because of the tutoring opportunities and that it is a time for students to really focus in on studying for finals.

Part of Cocoa Cram’s success comes from the many tutors that volunteer their time to help students prepare for their finals. Biology peer tutor Aranzta Ruiz said, “Cocoa Cram has been great and helping kids is always fun.” James Zhang thinks that Cocoa Cram differs from regular tutoring by allowing students to come together with their friends to study for finals. He said, “It helps build a sense of community.” Both of them agree that peer tutoring can be extremely beneficial for students and is fun to do.

Todd Pfeifer, a math teacher at Fossil Ridge High School and Academic Council advisor believes that, “It’s good for community. Its really cool to see the whole community come together and help prepare students for their finals.” Pfeifer enjoys being able to help students focus and prepare for finals.

Abbie Tusing, a junior, came to Cocoa Cram to get tutoring for math and to study with friends. She said, “having this time set aside was helpful for me because there is just so much to do and this made it easier.”