by Bill Wells Director of Student Promotion
TITANS IN ACTION: Ally Orquiola ’25
Ally Orquiola ’25: ‘Even if you don’t necessarily know someone who is in need, you can still help’
“Even if you don’t necessarily know someone who is in need, you can still help. Maybe you can’t make a connection, but you can still help out during the pandemic.” — Ally Orquiola ’25
• Ally Orquiola ’25, left, and Sarah Henderson ’25
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AC ADEMY WORLD SPRING 2021
Wilbraham & Monson Academy’s Ally Orquiola ’25 helped lead a massively successful food drive at the Middle School the week prior to Thanksgiving 2020, teaming with Sarah Henderson ’25 to collect 229 pounds of nonperishable food for a local survival center. Filled with a sense of community service and inspired by her mom’s common acts of selflessness during COVID-19, Ally extended her volunteerism initiative deeper into 2020 despite the pandemic. During the three weeks she was at home for scheduled remote learning due to the coronavirus, Ally and her family made four trips to a local food pantry—delivering roughly a half-dozen paper bags filled with scarfs, mittens, foot warmers and hats. They even included McDonald’s gift cards and purchased items on clearance at Target.
“Even if you don’t necessarily know someone who is in need, you can still help,” Ally explained. “Maybe you can’t make a connection, but you can still help out during the pandemic.” Ally emailed Director of the Middle School Stuart Whitcomb regarding spearheading a food drive at the Middle School. The coronavirus slowed down the process, but Ally and Sarah were given permission to put bins outside the building and email the students in the Middle School. In one week, Ally and Sarah far exceeded their goal and collected more than 200 items. “It went really well,” said Ally of the November endeavor. “We got a lot of canned food. I was very happy. It was good everyone was able to contribute. “I always like helping people and helping people in need. This was a good way for people who were struggling to get a meal and some extra help with their food insecurity.”
