The seventh annual Sock and Underwear Drive began on Sept. 6, lasting until Oct. 6, with the Westwood Warriors competing against the McNeil Mavericks to donate the most articles of clothing. Over 11,000 pairs of new socks and underwear were donated to the Round Rock clothes closet, meaning the Warriors were able to hold onto the trophy won the previous year.

As a way of encouraging staff and students to participate in the drive, the class with the most donations was rewarded with a pizza party, while the teachers were gifted with a parking spot near the school’s main entrance. This year, Ms. Christine Mihealsick’s second block class donated the greatest number of socks, with 19.45 socks per student. As a result, Ms. Mihealsick was named Teacher of the Month by Principal Mario Acosta.

“It just made me really sad to think about kids in our district that didn’t have access to clothes to the point that they didn’t even have socks and underwear,” Ms. Mihealsick said. “Also, several of the teachers sent out pictures of them collecting socks, which kind of got me pumped up too.”

Students in Ms. Mihealsick’s class were motivated not only by the extra credit offered from bringing in new pairs of socks and underwear, but also by the aspect of being able to help out the community.

“I think it’s really important because just participation and things like that have been down, and it’s kind of sad that you have to give extra credit for kids to donate,” Miles Simpkins ‘18 said. “Part of the motivation was extra credit, but then it motivated me to donate even more, so then I went out and bought socks for my actual second block teacher, which was Mr. Chalk.”

Though the extra credit provided an incentive for many students to donate, students’ own passions also served as a reason behind their participation.

“I just feel really lucky to teach at Westwood,” Ms. Mihealsick said. “At Westwood the students are already so involved, I think the kids are amazing because they really do find things that they’re passionate about and work at it.”