“Because of COVID, we only got six months of our freshmen year when it was more organic to meet everyone else,” Xing said. “All of a sudden, we’re seniors, and we only have a few months left. There are some great people within the senior class that I just don’t really know, and so that’s where we saw the need for the Polar Buddy System.”
Xing, who is also the captain of the Bowdoin men’s track and field team, first got the idea for the Polar Buddy System when he participated in a similar program with the team.
“It helped us get to know each other beyond just a teammate—I really liked the idea and had been participating in it with the team quite a lot,” Xing said. “Then, I thought, ‘Wow, what if we tried to do a similar program for the entire senior class?”
Along with Hamby, Ribeiro, and the rest of the Class Council, Xing began brainstorming buddy challenges and incentives for completing them. For the first week's challenge, the two options were to either ask a professor or local person to take a BeReal or selfie of you and your buddy. The next week's challenge was either to do a bedroom tour or to swap outfits (or, alternatively, to twin them).
Buddies score points, and dollars, as they complete the challenges (but they must submit photographic evidence). The easier challenge is worth $3 and the harder is worth $5—prizes that come in the form of vouchers for Jack Magee’s Pub and Grill or Class of 2023 apparel. At the end of the school year, the highest earner will also win a $50 gift card to the restaurant of their choice.
“It’s tricky, because a lot of people are settled into their routines and friends during senior year—there might not be much desire to branch out,” Hamby said. “So, we came up with the incentives to motivate people a little more.”
After setting the parameters, it was up to Xing and his team to design and launch the program. Xing recalls spending a total of twenty hours coding a program to match students up in random pairs, send out emails drafted by Hamby and Ribeiro, and give students their weekly tasks.
“We wanted the emails to be lighthearted,” Xing said. “We want people to know that this is is a fun opportunity to meet new people.”
Now, just a few weeks into operation, the program is off to a rapid start. Natsumi Meyer ’23 and Ryan Kovarovics ’23, who were paired together during Week 1, were instantly excited about the opportunity to connect with other members of the senior class community.
“[Meyer] and I had never met before, and she came up to me in Smith Union and was like, ‘We have to do our challenge,’” Kovarovics said. “So, we wound up meeting at my Spanish class and taking a selfie with my professor. It was super funny, and a nice reason to figure out who’s actually in our class after spending four years together.”
“The Polar Buddy System hit me right at a time when I felt like I wasn't able to form as many connections at Bowdoin as I wanted to, so I was really willing to embrace this opportunity,” Meyer added. “I was really grateful that my first partner was [Kovarovics], who also seemed willing to jump in and do something similar.”
Meyer also believes that this event holds a special importance, not only for the class of 2023, but at this specific time of year.
“When we’re approaching finals, it becomes harder and harder to find little moments of joy,” she said. “I enjoyed the experience of ambushing [Kovarovics] and completing our challenge together. It was like a little scavenger hunt that made the week more interesting.”
As the Class of 2023 becomes more enthusiastic about the Polar Buddy System, Ribeiro and the rest of the Class Council look forward to seeing their hard work, and their desire to cultivate community in the senior class, pay off.
“When I see the slideshow at the end of the year, with people taking selfies with their professor or swapping outfits, I’ll feel really good,” Ribeiro said. “If I see ten photos just like that, I’ll feel like we accomplished something.”
