Seniors finally have the chance to celebrate this semester after 100 days of senior was delayed due to COVID-19. The first of many senior-only events will feature mixology from Simpson College alumnus Kyle Doyle of Iowa Distilling Company. 

Simpson introduced 100 days of senior a few years ago as a way to honor seniors and give them some final good memories as their days on campus come to a close. Rich Ramos and Andy English are behind the events.

When it comes to planning the events in the time of Omicron, Ramos says it’s three steps forward, two steps back.

“There’s not very many restrictions on what we can and can’t do, but we still want to be respectful. I want to make sure people feel comfortable coming to events and still want seniors to have that experience they expect.”

Ramos says 100 days of senior, was inspired by similar celebrations at colleges, specifically senior week at his daughter’s school. He was also encouraged to start the event after attending a conference where he learned more about senior engagement activities.

“There was really no opportunity for graduating seniors to have any closure about anything,” Ramos said. “I really wanted them to have some closure on that because I saw the kind of closure that my daughter had.”

Ramos says that 100 days of senior can give students a final positive fun experience, coming together with their classmates, no matter what their experience at the college has been. The event provides graduating seniors closure and wraps up their time at Simpson.

“It’s interesting to see students who you’ve known have had some frustrating times or challenges in their college experience and then they’re going through this, and they realize ‘you know, it didn’t all suck,’ and there [were] still some really cool parts of it,” Ramos said.

Seniors can look forward to more events throughout the semester, such as bingo, trivia, a medallion hunt and more.

“I think it’s a really good thing. I just hope students can come out, enjoy it, and appreciate it and take part in it as much as they can,” Ramos said.

The mixology event will occur in Hubbell Hall from 7-8:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 3. Seniors wanting to attend the event must sign up beforehand using the link sent to their email. Participants must be 21+ and present valid proof of ID upon entering the event.